In July 2024, Solar Washington interviewed Joelle Hammerstad, a member of Solar Washington who helped plan the 2023 Solar Summit.

Solar Washington: How did you become interested in solar?  

Joelle Hammerstad: In 2016 I was the Sustainable Operations Manager at Seattle Parks & Recreation (SPR) working to reduce electric utility consumption and carbon usage in Parks Department buildings. Seattle City Light approached us with a partnership opportunity to build an innovative new project. City Light had a Clean Energy Fund grant to build a solar microgrid, which pairs a large solar array with industrial-sized batteries. A microgrid “islands” itself from the electric grid in the event of a power outage and operates independently to power a building or facility. Together with the community, City Light and SPR chose Miller Community Center to site the microgrid. We opened the Miller Microgrid in April 2022. During this same period, I also worked with the City of Seattle Office of Sustainability & Environment to receive a GreenUp Grant from Seattle City Light, which SPR used to put a large solar array on a community center in Magnuson Park. These two experiences really opened my eyes to the possibilities that exist to build out many more solar arrays in the region to help reduce carbon use and power a sustainable future.

SW: Why did you join Solar Washington and what do you expect from Solar Washington?  

JH: I became a member of Solar Washington when I had the opportunity to join Seattle City Light in July 2022. I attended my first Solar Summit in 2022, and then helped pull together a panel to discuss Distributed Energy Resources for the 2023 Summit. As a member of Solar Washington, it has been my experience and my pleasure to connect with, get to know and learn from other members of this organization. 

SW: What is next for you regarding solar? 

JH: Since being at Seattle City Light, I have been working on developing and implementing a Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Strategy and Plan. The underlying goal of this work is to streamline the solar interconnection process to increase efficiency for customers and staff. We expect to publish an Interconnection Handbook in 2025, which will help guide solar installers through the interconnection process at Seattle City Light.