[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6087928,"mediaKeyId","2886084-8b9fc57be66c1a9485bff8b3a0ace079","parentId",2886084,"title","Puget Sound Energy details clean‑energy timeline and battery targets; council and residents raise safety and siting concerns","audioSeconds",3251,"startMs",3351000,"endMs",6602000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2886084-8b9fc57be66c1a9485bff8b3a0ace079&start=3351&end=6602","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2886084-8b9fc57be66c1a9485bff8b3a0ace079/thumbnail_3351000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6087928/Sedro-Woolley/Skagit-County/Washington/Puget-Sound-Energy-details-cleanenergy-timeline-and-battery-targets-council-and-residents-raise-safety-and-siting-concerns","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6087928-941d0191274953cbc2a34a8a0a5f4ab6/orig.mp4?Expires=1771199300&Signature=Vd84ze5tBY7ExnIIkJgIX3Rt-3hZJk~SD~oR~8rrgwpUyY7mjrd-L-J3NPNqgAy9HXhHggf9JBzKxzP4ooxE~A~hwAIuDdRQN8EKcf8lX5y6ez4i~X1wDi-J9~pvfEHzmHrhfaBadRRIYB47AUSU~nct426aoXtFSe8EsYsq21gpfWCmvNaecJ~Pr~WAln7VY5ivtcWMnt6KSx0K~FxBVZYCjJBlggtimJlX7EIKCWd6YF9jHOZn~IR8KaH257MmqRsxBCzYC1zLPsmf~bwlOAnkgT7oncVHdRiWqypB5aQocua14Zsz3qHiu9d7mS62u1sghyT0vGhhBKfP7icn9g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Sedro-Woolley, WA","date","2025-04-05T14:59:08.05Z","article","Robert Knoll, senior government affairs representative for Puget Sound Energy (PSE), told the Sedro‑Woolley City Council that Washington’s Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA) sets binding benchmarks that are driving a rapid change in how PSE sources and stores electricity.

Knoll outlined the law’s milestones — the company expects a major emission milestone in 2025 when an out‑of‑state coal facility serving the region will be retired, a target of roughly 80% non‑emitting supply by 2030 and a statutory goal of 100% non‑emitting supply by 2045 — and described the scale of new generation and grid work PSE says will be necessary to meet those requirements.

“Since 2019 when CETA passed, we’ve procured and are operating 3,800 megawatts of clean energy,” Knoll said. He described an all‑of‑the‑above procurement strategy that includes renewables, hybrid thermal peaking resources and storage. Knoll said PSE has issued multiple all‑source requests for proposals and is evaluating projects to add roughly 1,500 megawatts of battery energy storage across its service territory to manage intermittency and help meet the near‑term need for dispatchable supply.

Knoll emphasized transmission constraints and the scale of required new build: many of the large projects that would supply clean energy sit outside the central Puget Sound, requiring additional long‑distance transmission and coordination with the Bonneville Power Administration. He said grid modernization, distribution upgrades and demand‑response programs will all be necessary to integrate new resources and growing loads — particularly electric vehicles and potential large commercial consumers such as data centers.

Council members and residents used the presentation to press PSE about local siting and safety for battery storage facilities. Councilman Kock cited high‑profile battery fires elsewhere and said a local fire chief had described cell‑level events as explosive: “when the fires would reach an EV battery when it blew up it sounded like a grenade,” he said. Multiple council members and residents asked whether PSE would urge developers to reconsider siting near farmland, waterways and populated areas.

Knoll said PSE monitors safety developments and that codes and industry practice have evolved since earlier incidents such as the Moss Landing facility fire; he pointed to California’s post‑fire code changes and noted Washington already has stringent codes. He also said PSE can and does review proposals but that some projects may be built and then request service from PSE as a utility customer. Knoll said PSE is not directly involved in permitting decisions made by counties or by the state Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC), but that the company is in conversations with project proposers and county officials.

Residents raised other concerns. Connie Crier, a local commentator, urged PSE to “tell FSEC it is not the most conducive location” for storage sited near Hansen Creek, Padilla Bay and protected farmland, and accused the utility of attempting to “greenwash” the impacts of storage facilities. Council members asked PSE to return for a focused session on local proposals and invited additional public engagement and technical briefings from company staff.

Knoll closed by listing local programs and partnerships: a $45 million federal grant for grid resiliency, a Samish Island microgrid project to increase local reliability, work on fish passage at Baker and public‑facing assets at the Baker Project, which he encouraged council members to visit.

No formal action or vote resulted from this presentation; multiple council members requested a future, more focused work session on battery energy storage siting and public safety.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Sedro-Woolley City Council Studying Session Meeting for April 2, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Robert Knoll, senior government affairs representative for Puget Sound Energy, told the Sedro‑Woolley City Council that Washington’s Clean Energy Transformation Act requires large increases in clean generation and storage and that PSE is pursuing roughly 1,500 megawatts of battery storage to address intermittency.","taxTitle","Sedro-Woolley, Skagit County, Washington","taxId",71694,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6087933,"Skagit Tourism Bureau reports growth, launches sports commission and new website",1480,996000,2476000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2886084-8b9fc57be66c1a9485bff8b3a0ace079&start=996&end=2476","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2886084-8b9fc57be66c1a9485bff8b3a0ace079/thumbnail_996000.jpg","/articles/6087933/Sedro-Woolley/Skagit-County/Washington/Skagit-Tourism-Bureau-reports-growth-launches-sports-commission-and-new-website","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6087933-2ac959826f9f8e4c546af4359914b64c/orig.mp4?Expires=1771199300&Signature=OJBFlOCVaqPVNb2w~4cFDz2MiQLxo7FFf3nXkd2tgWpxSoJ9Frcwf44I0xKgaX9iKNrT5-E4nQyn-gx3cGR4xCVVfNwbLv14YYkvvmu9N~HTCv1M80N8kMPWLfSi4ymZCgvGzOAUjtleOzU3Ea~WskualE-CMkV~Zk6SbSiY1Ib0ly1ZBs8NX~gsrLFIwZTRG0u0t2DmjVuKExlFlhBDW4WqhmgEAm8AiUNuCmxv96SuHMiteYB63dhQU-1eEpHhWjtcJTUiclIxicGKnBLJofadLE31D~c05F-c8CyT4nLwyv7k1jdBz5WOLR~InujcSrrUejg1~Qpl6Ut0QQknCA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Kristen Keltz, chief executive officer of the Skagit Tourism Bureau, told the Sedro‑Woolley City Council during its April study session that the countywide bureau has completed a year of branding, launched a new website and set up a sports commission aimed at attracting tournaments and overnight stays.

Keltz said the bureau, funded mainly by a tourism promotion area fee collected at hotels, reported about 13,800,000 ad impressions, 450,000 emails sent, roughly 14,000 room nights generated and approximately $3,600,000 in conservatively tracked visitor spending from a recent attribution campaign. She said the bureau leveraged a $2.2 million cooperative campaign with the State of Washington Tourism and is increasing use of media-attribution vendors to target marketing dollars.

The presentation mattered, Keltz said, because overnight stays and tourism-generated tax revenue support local jobs and infrastructure. “We are here to attract overnight stays and market the experience that is Skagit Valley,” she told the council, adding that the bureau tries to balance promotion with protection against “overtourism.”

Keltz described governance and funding: the bureau is organized as a 501(c)(6) and operates under a county contract and a Tourism Promotion Area (TPA) agreement that authorizes participating hotels (those with 40 rooms or more) to collect a per‑room nightly fee for marketing. She said the TPA advisory board includes representatives from each community and seven hotel seats that share oversight of the work plan and budget.

Among the bureau’s new initiatives, Keltz highlighted a sports commission formed in January and a hire of a sports development manager, Cody Hurd. She said the sports work aims to package fields, hotels and services in a single “PlayEasy” platform to make Skagit Valley competitive for tournaments. The bureau has secured two weekends for a USA Ultimate tournament in May that it estimates will bring about 2,500 participants the first weekend and about 5,000 the second.

Keltz also previewed a new website launched two weeks earlier with an interactive map, an events calendar and an AI-powered itinerary tool that she said will allow visitors to build custom itineraries and ask 24/7 questions. She asked cities and community groups to upload local events and resources; the bureau plans an extranet so stakeholders can submit content directly.

On funding and grants, Keltz listed recent awards and programs: a $22,000 rural tourism marketing and production grant used to build a photo library, a $25,000 video/content grant, a research/data grant to support sports‑tournament economic impact analysis and a rural tourism support grant from the state for a destination-development consultant. She said the bureau was the only bureau in Washington to receive that state grant.

Council members praised the work and asked detailed questions about tracking and return on ad spend. Keltz described her use of attribution vendors (Epsilon and Datify) and said, “we can actually track when they come into Skagit Valley and spend money on their credit card,” calling the $3,600,000 figure a conservative estimate of measured visitor spend from a roughly $55,000 campaign.

Keltz closed by inviting council members to the bureau’s summit on May 15, when the State of Washington Tourism CEO and the bureau’s research partner will present the annual report and updated visitation data.

The presentation contained no formal council actions; council members asked the bureau to supply city‑level event content for the new site and said staff would follow up on ways to populate Sedro‑Woolley pages and the event calendar.

For more information Keltz provided a contact and noted slides and the full packet are available online.","Kristen Keltz, chief executive officer of the Skagit Tourism Bureau, told the Sedro‑Woolley City Council that the countywide bureau has completed a year of branding, launched a new website and set up a sports commission aimed at attracting tournaments and overnight stays.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6087923,"City council approves executive‑session move, withdrawal from opioid litigation and four transportation grant matches",6182,958000,7140000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2886084-8b9fc57be66c1a9485bff8b3a0ace079&start=958&end=7140","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2886084-8b9fc57be66c1a9485bff8b3a0ace079/thumbnail_958000.jpg","/articles/6087923/Sedro-Woolley/Skagit-County/Washington/City-council-approves-executivesession-move-withdrawal-from-opioid-litigation-and-four-transportation-grant-matches","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6087923-7e45f2aac318ea29886aa996414dfbbe/orig.mp4?Expires=1771199300&Signature=Ynt-sqChipAhVGPZtuAm2Reh4ZxixTdGwZmrHYOf8NLBIClYPmcxWPf4ug5GYimtbScVcz~Xoz3huHiOZVmkx5lVXLY6JZRaYPHDZCqYtgxJhtjTKCWUebO0rNhLrwCgzIyFmerNlSOChF9tN3TS4M-AI~30IHxttyVcASFyJ17LFeQlrc2LJZ6n8iM6yOVMSf8xXpQo8axVHJ8oe3iY-7S7Dy2sbOLp56qX99IY1WNCQmeyUby4K8ezYFoeZbQXzJI2kJXjQJEOxM~qAmJCjBO0EsiVufI34jZn5S2~5Qi2L-O-eiNYBaDy39cvyj-sZOHgXDlqNHuUYEjmrwcDOQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Sedro‑Woolley City Council approved several procedural and funding motions during the study session, including a change to agenda order, a litigation withdrawal and authorization of local matching funds for two transportation grant applications.

At the start of the meeting, Councilman Henderson moved — with a second from Councilman Burns — to move the city’s executive session to the top of the agenda in order to accommodate legal counsel’s schedule. The motion passed on a voice vote.

After the executive session, Councilman Cox moved, and Councilman Henderson seconded, a motion “to withdraw the amendment from the opioid litigation.” The council approved the withdrawal by voice vote.

Later the council considered four related transportation motions to support grant applications through the Skagit Council of Governments (SCOG). The motions, approved together, authorized local matching funds and asked the mayor to sign project endorsement forms. Key details read into the record by the mayor included:

- Motion 1: Approve an additional commitment of $321,215 in local funding to match the Surface Transportation Block Grant (STP‑US) application for the John Liner Arterial Improvements Project (estimated project cost: $2,980,091).

- Motion 2: Authorize the mayor to sign the SCOG project endorsement for the John Liner Arterial Improvements Project.

- Motion 3: Approve a commitment of $52,110 in local funding to match the STP‑US application for the FNS Grade Road Improvements Phase 1 (estimated project cost: $2,740,500).

- Motion 4: Authorize the mayor to sign the SCOG project endorsement for the FNS Grade Road Improvements Phase 1.

Council moved and seconded the four motions collectively; the mayor then called the roll by voice and the motions carried. City staff said the total local cash match asked for across motions 1–4 was $373,325 (the sum of the two motion amounts read into the record). City staff said the matching funds would be paid from available arterial/streets funds and related transportation fund sources.

No recorded roll‑call tallies were read into the minutes beyond the unanimous voice approval; the mayor stated each motion passed after an “aye” vote.

Authorities and process: the mayor announced at the start of the meeting that the executive session discussion with legal counsel was being held under the Washington state open‑meetings executive‑session statute cited in the meeting as RCW 42.30.110 (discussion of legal matters). The transportation grant actions are grant‑application endorsements and local match commitments to be submitted to the Skagit Council of Governments and are subject to SCOG’s application review and federal STP‑US program rules.

Summary of formal actions taken:

- Move executive session to top of agenda — mover: Councilman Henderson; second: Councilman Burns; outcome: approved (voice vote).
- Withdraw amendment from opioid litigation — mover: Councilman Cox; second: Councilman Henderson; outcome: approved (voice vote).
- Approve local matches and authorize mayoral endorsements for SCOG STP‑US applications for John Liner Arterial Improvements and FNS Grade Road Phase 1 — mover: Councilman Cook; second: Councilman Henderson; outcome: approved (voice vote).","Sedro‑Woolley council members voted to move an executive session to the start of the study session, approved a motion to withdraw from an amended opioid litigation matter and authorized local matching funds and mayoral endorsement for two transportation projects (four motions) submitted to Skagit Council of Governments.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Puget Sound Energy details clean‑energy timeline and battery targets; council and residents raise safety and siting concerns

Skagit Tourism Bureau reports growth, launches sports commission and new website

City council approves executive‑session move, withdrawal from opioid litigation and four transportation grant matches