Washington City Council voted to join a UAMPS (Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems) Fremont solar project, approving a transaction schedule under UAMPS’ master firm power supply agreement that commits the city to 7.5 megawatts of solar capacity and the project’s associated battery capacity.

The council approved a resolution at the regular meeting after an earlier, longer briefing in the workshop session. The project pairs photovoltaic generation with a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) to move generation produced in the middle of the day to later afternoon and evening hours when the city’s load typically peaks. Power Director Rick Hansen told the council the arrangement better matches Washington’s daily load curve and provides a fixed-price energy product over the contract term.

City staff emphasized that the PPA shifts some midday solar into evening hours by charging batteries when solar is abundant and discharging during peak hours. Assistant Power Director Scott presented load charts showing seasonal and hourly variability — summer afternoons can exceed winter baselines by tens of megawatts — and described how battery storage reduces exposure to high market prices at peak times.

Hansen said the energy-only portion of the Fremont project is priced at about $34.45 per megawatt-hour (roughly 3.4¢/kWh). Battery capacity is charged as a monthly fee; staff cited $13.50 per kilowatt-month as the baseline with a potential tariff-driven increase to about $14.14/kW‑month. Combined, those elements produced a blended delivered cost in the city’s materials of roughly $69 to $74 per MWh (about 6.9–7.4¢/kWh), depending on final tariff outcomes and how battery charges are counted in the blended number.

Staff noted the PPA fixes prices for 25 years and places operations and maintenance responsibilities on the project owner rather than on the city. Hansen and Scott detailed typical battery lifecycle assumptions — contract provisions anticipate mid-life battery replacements because battery performance degrades over time — and said that fleet-level battery replacement obligations would be written into the developer agreement.

Hansen told the council the overall Fremont facility is planned as a roughly 99‑MW plant with approximately 49.5 MW of battery capacity; Washington’s participation is 7.5 MW of solar capacity. He said the project anticipates starting commercial operations in late 2027 or 2028 and that the project is currently oversubscribed among UAMPS members. The city’s power board reviewed the proposal and recommended approval before the council vote.

Council members asked about battery lifetime (staff said contracts plan for replacement and estimated typical battery service life at about 10 years), how the delivered cost compares with market purchases (staff said the spot market varies widely by year; last year the market would have been cheaper but the PPA provides price stability), and whether there is any risk of short supply (staff cited rare historical examples, like California in 2022, when load exceeded resources and rolling outages occurred; securing long-term resources is intended to reduce that risk).

Action and next steps: the council approved the resolution authorizing the Fremont solar PPA participation in a roll-call vote. Staff said the PPA locks a fixed price for 25 years, the developer must meet production parameters and maintain equipment, and the city’s share is 7.5 MW. The city’s power staff will continue contract work and implementation coordination through UAMPS.

Why it matters: Washington City’s system has large swings between overnight lows and summer evening peaks; adding solar paired with storage is intended to shift daytime generation into higher-value evening hours, reduce exposure to price spikes at peak times, and provide a predictable long-term resource cost.

Speakers quoted in this article spoke during workshop and regular sessions and are identified by role in the transcript.