Faced with a need to upgrade electrical service and replace its emergency backup generators that dated back to World War II, the Klickitat Valley Hospital (KVH) was having trouble finding funding through local bonds and the State of Washington. Traditional solutions were costly. KVH began looking into alternatives and engaged the nonprofit Center for Sustainable Infrastructure and CollinsWoerman to develop an integrated strategy that would be compelling to state legislators. During our review, CollinsWoerman found that the Goldendale School District (GSD), located one block from the hospital, was facing a similar challenge with a new central utility plant also experiencing funding shortfalls.

CSI and CollinsWoerman facilitated a Sustainability and Resilience Value Planning Workshop that included local farmers, the school district, City of Goldendale, Klickitat County, and additional community members. The workshop resulted in a bold new vision of a Goldendale Energy Exchange (GEE) that served as a renewable energy district, offering a community-scale solution that could supply the energy needs for KVH, GSD, and other community facilities.