The city of Pendleton usually budgets $200,000 per year for the wastewater plant’s electricity bill. In the coming years, city officials hope that number dwindles to zero.

Pendleton unveiled a “solar canopy” at a Wednesday ceremony, a green energy project that is expected to cover about one-third of the wastewater plant’s energy needs. The city doesn’t want to stop there, putting together plans to connect the wastewater plant to a microgrid that would allow it to sustain itself without drawing power from outside sources, saving the city money and reducing its carbon emissions.

“It will be zero,” wastewater Superintendent Kyle Willman said. “Not just net zero, but true zero.”

Willman said the idea for a solar canopy at the wastewater plant started about 10 years ago. Eventually, the city partnered with energy company Ameresco, which previously had helped the city replace more than 1,000 street lights with energy-efficient LEDs.

The solar canopy is designed to benefit Pendleton in two ways. The solar array on top of the concrete canopy generates power for the energy-intensive process of treating wastewater. Below the canopy is the chlorine chamber, the area of the plant where water is disinfected before it’s sent to the nearby Umatilla River. The shade provided by the canopy keeps the water cooler before it is sent to the river, Willman said, reducing algae growth. It means the city can use less chlorine to clean the water.

All of this is supposed to set the foundation for the next phase of the project.

“The microgrid truly is the brain for the system,” Willman said.

The city wants to install a battery energy storage system at the plant that would allow it to store excess solar energy during sunny times and redistribute it at night or on overcast days. The battery would allow the city to turn the facility into a microgrid, producing all of its own energy without the need to draw electricity from a utility company. Willman said that could be a boon to the city’s pocketbook at a time when Pacific Power is instituting major price hikes.

Pendleton should see a quick return on its investment on the solar canopy, according to Willman. The canopy cost $1.6 million but about 80% of the cost is covered by a grant and federal tax credits.

Pendleton Mayor McKennon McDonald said the city is still fighting to get funding for the microgrid phase of the project. Federal funding is less certain than it was when they applied for funding for the canopy as the Trump administration has pursued cuts to some government programs. She said they’re lobbying for funding through the governor’s regional solutions office and have a compelling pitch.

“Very rarely do you see projects like these happening in rural Oregon,” she said.

Brian Solan, a vice president of business development for Ameresco, agreed. He said that solar canopies and microgrids could be a model for other small and medium-sized wastewater systems throughout the country.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/06/14/pendleton-powers-wastewater-plant-solar-canopy-energy-eastern-oregon-electricity/