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Port seeks city support for energy park plans to address local power scarcity
Summary
The Port of Moses Lake presented a pre-feasibility study for an industrial "energy park" and asked the council for letters of support to pursue grants and technical assistance; council members signaled support pending coordination with the Grant County PUD and project partners.
The Port of Moses Lake asked the city Wednesday to back a pre-feasibility plan that would investigate shared energy infrastructure and organizational models to help address a local shortage of power for high-tech industrial users.
Dan Roach, the port's executive director, and Shannon Souza, project director, said the effort looks at technology and governance options—including industrial "energy parks" and an industrial infrastructure cooperative—that could harmonize the Port's economic-development role with the Grant County PUD's service responsibilities. "We're here tonight to share a little bit about what we're doing with power," Roach said, asking the council for letters of support to pursue grant funds and technical assistance.
Souza framed the approach as an industrial-symbiosis model that would enable co-located industry, agriculture and community uses to share heat, power, water and residuals. "What we're proposing is to establish an industrial infrastructure cooperative," Souza said, outlining three planning horizons: near-term demonstration projects (two years), five-year alignment with growth plans, and longer-term infrastructure planning to 2041 tied to CETA compliance.
Council members asked about using the existing tax increment area for reinvestment once rail projects were paid and about coordinating demonstrations with the PUD. Staff said the Port had already met with the PUD and received a letter of support and that the council's letter would help secure grant opportunities. After questions and brief discussion, the council agreed to provide a formal letter of support to the Port.
The Port characterized the study as a high-level pre-feasibility review (roughly 180 pages with appendices) and said it does not ask the council to endorse any specific demonstration project at this stage; instead the Port asked for backing to pursue funding and technical work to test options in the Wheeler Corridor and other locations. The Port and PUD will return with further details if the grant and technical processes move forward.
