Skagit Valley Clean Energy Alliance launches 2025 Solarize campaign; net-metering change heightens interest

The Skagit Valley Clean Energy Alliance updated the Anacortes City Council on the 2025 Solarize group-purchase campaign for residential solar and storage at the March 10 meeting. Mary Wolob (campaign lead) said the campaign secures pre-vetted installers, negotiates time-limited group pricing and offers financing options through Puget Sound Cooperative Credit Union.

Wolob told council that Washington’s 1-to-1 net-metering arrangement—under which a kilowatt exported to the grid is credited at the same rate as a kilowatt drawn—expires Dec. 25, 2025. Systems interconnected before the end of the year will be grandfathered on those terms, Wolob said.

The alliance reported that 2024 countywide results included about 50 sign-ups and 17 installations; in Anacortes the group recorded 57 sign-ups and four installations. The 2025 advertised rate for installed rooftop systems is about $2.45 per watt in the program’s primary pricing band; campaign materials note a possible federal tax credit (commonly 30%) and no Washington state sales tax on equipment. Panel manufacturer Silfab (Burlington) was cited as a made-in-Washington equipment option.

Wolob asked the council to help publicize the campaign through city communication channels and through the city utility-bill insert program. The campaign plans a public kickoff April 12 in La Conner and a July enrollment close; installations can continue through the end of 2025.

Councilmembers asked about net-metering grandfathering (it applies at grid interconnection) and financing options; Wolob said the campaign’s financing partner can structure loans so monthly savings offset loan payments in many cases. No formal council action was requested or taken.