Quick Fact: San Juan County Comprehensive Plan

What is the Comp Plan?

The Comp Plan is an important guiding document for managing land use and infrastructure in a coordinated and sustainable way.

The Comp Plan goals and policies can help local organizations prepare and adapt as climate disruption accelerates. The plan addresses key elements, including land use, housing, transportation, capital facilities, utilities, and economic development. For essential infrastructure organizations like OPALCO, we use the Comp Plan to guide our long-term planning, and most of the plan elements touch on OPALCO’s day-to-day mission.

Why It Matters to OPALCO & Co-op Members

• OPALCO relies on the Comp Plan for long-term planning.
• Current land use policies limit local renewable energy development.
• Co-op member engagement is essential to advocate for practical, forward-thinking updates.

OPALCO’s Key Recommendations

Climate Element:

•  Expand local renewable energy generation.
• Simplify permitting for utility-scale solar projects.
• Improve energy resilience amid regional power shortfalls.
• Address water, housing, and infrastructure needs through 2045.
• Include measurable climate goals and adaptation strategies (e.g., wildfire risk reduction, regenerative agriculture).

Utility Element:

• Increase permitting predictability and revise land use policies.
• Designate utility-scale solar as essential public infrastructure.
• Support flexible income housing solutions for workforce retention.

Urgent Local Challenges

• Regional energy shortages and submarine cable capacity limits.
• No new hydropower and reduced snowpack.
• Less than 5% of energy needs can be met by rooftops alone.
• OPALCO must provide reliable, uninterrupted service.

The Case for Utility-Scale Solar

• Requires <1% of county land (about 875 acres).
• Cost-effective and reliable energy, especially in winter.
• Agrisolar projects can enhance farming, soil health, and food production.

Take Action – How You Can Help

• Speak at a County Council meeting: The County Council meets regularly on Mondays and Tuesdays at 9:00am. These meetings are open to the public via online or in-person “Public Access Time” at the beginning of each meeting. Find out more: https://sanjuancowa.portal.civicclerk.com/
• Speak at a Planning Commission meeting: The Planning Commission meets monthly on the third Friday of the month at 8:30am. There is “Public Access Time” at the beginning of each meeting, where anyone can share their input. Check the meeting agenda to see which elements will be discussed that month.
• Provide written feedback: Email your comments or questions to compplan@sanjuancountywa.gov.
• Please let the OPALCO team know your thoughts: Email us at communications@opalco.com and let us know what your ideas are or what you plan to share with the County. 

Key Talking Points for the County

• Prioritize Local Energy Independence to Prevent Future Blackouts
  San Juan County is facing a growing energy reliability crisis due to regional power shortages, declining hydropower, and limited submarine cable capacity. The Comprehensive Plan must support local renewable energy development—especially utility-scale solar—to ensure we can power our homes, ferries, and essential services during increasing demand and climate-driven grid instability.
• Streamline Permitting for Utility-Scale Solar and Agrisolar Projects
  OPALCO has maximized rooftop solar deployment—achieving participation levels similar to California—but rooftops alone can only satisfy about 5% of our energy needs. To meet future demand, we need to use less than 1% of county land for utility-scale solar, ideally co-located with farms (agrisolar). The Plan should modernize land use codes and ensure permitting certainty to facilitate the efficient construction of these projects and access crucial grant funding.
• Recognize Local Renewable Energy Projects as Essential Public Facilities
  Energy infrastructure is as critical as water, communications, and emergency services. The Comprehensive Plan should formally recognize utility-scale solar and microgrid facilities as essential public facilities (EPFs)—giving them the same planning priority and permitting pathways as other crucial services needed to support our island community and local energy independence.
• Support Worker Housing
  OPALCO and other essential service providers face challenges in hiring and retaining skilled staff due to a significant shortage of housing. This is affecting not only low-income but middle-income workers as well. The County should permit flexible workforce housing solutions—such as density incentives, multi-unit housing on utility-owned land, and co-located housing with agrisolar projects—to sustain the reliable utility services islanders rely on.
• Plan for Resilience, Not Just Conservation
  While conservation, rooftop solar, and EVs are important and strongly supported by OPALCO, the Comprehensive Plan must adopt a balanced approach. We need to plan not only for sustainability, but also for realistic resilience. That means backing utility-scale solutions that can operate during outages, accommodate growing electric demand, and ensure islanders have access to safe, affordable, and reliable power now and in the future.

Coming Soon: OPALCO’s input on the Unified Development Code (UDC)

Documents:

Comp Plan Utility Element OPALCO Suggested Edits

Comp Plan Climate Element OPALCO Suggested Updates

Response to COMPASS group on Comprehensive Plan Climate Element