The Issaquah School District is transitioning to more sustainable power sources as part of Puget Sound Energy’s Green Direct Program.

The district announced its participation in a news release on Dec. 5, 2018.

Green Direct is a PSE program that allows participants to buy their energy from local renewable sources. Issaquah School District was the only school district, of 37 other organizations, to join the program’s launch in 2018.

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission approved PSE to increase its capacity to allow for more participants in the second phase, which allowed ISD to join the program. Other organizations signed on including the city of Issaquah, Amazon, University of Washington Bothell, Sound Transit and T-Mobile.

PSE is planning to build a solar power plant in south-central Washington that should be operational by 2021.

In the news release form the district, ISD resource conservation manager Chris Bruno said the Green Direct Program will allow the district to anticipate electricity costs because PSE already has set the cost per kilowatt hour of electricity for the first 10 years of the program. There will not be any rate fluctuations as the prices have already been set.

Superintendent Ron Thiele said the district’s participation in the program sets an example for students on making choices that use resources responsibly and prevent environmental damage.