The Project
Over the course of about four weeks in the spring of 2026, our team brought energy independence via solar plus battery storage to two dozen homes on the Port Madison Indian Reservation on the Kitsap Peninsula, home to the Suquamish Tribe. That work was part of a long-term effort and year of collaboration with the Tribe’s Climate Resiliency and Department of Community Development to work through grant requirements, center the Tribe’s values, optimize the technical approach for each home’s unique conditions and surroundings, and keep everyone on the same page.
When we learned during the engineering process that utility upgrades would be required, we went back to our team and revised our designs to keep costs down while more equitably distributing the benefits of the available equipment. That work paid off: it allowed us to bring solar and battery storage to 5 additional homes, growing the program to 24 residences in total.
Across those 24 homes, we used an average of 20 top-of-the-line Silfab Prime 440-watt panels, Enphase IQ microinverters, Enphase batteries, and IronRidge mounting equipment, and altogether, a total of 212 kW of solar and 460 kWh of battery storage.
Why It Mattered
This wasn’t just a coordinated effort to bring energy resilience to residents across an entire community. Battery storage means these homes can keep the lights on, the fridge running, and medical equipment powered when the grid goes down, a meaningful upgrade for energy independence in a region that deals with wind and other natural causes for power outages.
That coordination and mutual understanding continued during our on-site work, where our crews got to connect with residents, answer questions, and even visit the Suquamish Museum to learn about the Tribe’s history and culture.
Even though our on-site work is complete, our partnership continues. We’re training the Tribe’s staff on how the systems work, how to monitor their performance, and how to maintain them over the long term and we’ll be servicing these systems through the crucial first years of operation.
Project Highlights
- 24 homes, one finish line. Every system passed inspection, a 100% first-time pass rate on final inspections.
- A program built at scale. 212 kW of solar and 460 kWh of battery storage across the community.
- 75-100% energy coverage. The systems are designed to cover between 75-100% of residents’ average energy use.
- Listening as much as installing. From incorporating grant requirements to redesigning around utility upgrades, the Tribe’s input shaped this program at every stage.
Looking Ahead
Projects like this reflect why we’re all proud of what we do. We don’t just install panels, we build relationships that outlast the project’s completion date. As the only locally owned and operated solar contractor in Whatcom County with over 21 years in the business, we’re proud to bring that same craftsmanship and community focus to projects across the Pacific Northwest.
