ELM Starts Work on Swinomish Microgrid at Tribe’s Senior Center

Construction is underway on a solar-plus-storage microgrid for the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community in Washington state. ELM Companies, which is providing the microgrid components, announced last week that the battery units have been delivered and installation was underway.

Funded by a $1.75 million grant awarded by the Washington State Department of Commerce in 2024, the system will include 50 kW of on-site solar generation, 125 kw / 660 kWh of battery energy storage and intelligent energy management software. 

Located at the Swinomish Senior Center, the microgrid will provide power for essential community services and reduce energy costs.

“Partnering on the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community projects allows us to demonstrate how reliable, sustainable energy solutions can directly benefit essential community services,” said Bobby Butler, director for sales for ELM Microgrid. “We’re proud to help reduce energy costs while ensuring that critical programs for seniors remain uninterrupted, supporting the community’s independence and long-term resilience.”

The Swinomish community is located in northwest Washington about 60 miles south of the Canadian border. Just over 3,000 people call the reservation home.

Resilience and energy sovereignty

Native American tribes from Arizona to California, Maine and North Carolina have installed microgrids in recent years to ensure electric reliability for homes, businesses and critical community services.

Reservations are often in remote locations and at the end of distribution lines, leading to reliability issues.

Microgrids also reduce reliance on outside energy providers, lowering costs and increasing tribal energy sovereignty.

Washington State awards more microgrid fuds this year

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community received an additional $1.36 million grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce this year to fund the construction of a solar plus storage system at its medical clinic. The system will provide reliable backup power to the facility.

“Once installed, our community will have a sustainable source of energy for our medical facility, and services to tribal members will not be interrupted by power outages. The Clean Energy Community Grants are helping the Swinomish Community expand our solar grid and better serve our people,” Steve Edwards, Swinomish Tribal Community Chairman, said when the grant was announced in April.

The state announced 37 other grant recipients at that time, including three microgrid projects.

• Tessera was awarded $2.36 million for a wildfire resistance microgrid and workforce development program in Spokane
• The Orange Grove Foundation in Tacoma received nearly $136,000 for a solar microgrid and heat pump for a substance recovery home.
• The Methow Conservancy in Winthrop was awarded $52,300 to plan and design a solar plus storage microgrid for an affordable housing neighborhood.