ENTERPRISE — A $100,000 grant from the state Department of Energy is on the horizon for Wallowa Resources, as the group hopes to have a “performance agreement” completed this month, said Joe Basile, WR’s community energy program manager.

The grant, one of 21 that totaled $12 million announced by the DOE in October, will go toward planning the construction of microgrids in Joseph, Wallowa and Enterprise, Basile said.

A microgrid, he said, is “a combination of localized electricity-generation sources, energy storage devices, and multiple loads that act as a small electric grid with respect to the main electric grid,” reading a textbook definition.

“They typically power critical infrastructure, like water systems, emergency shelters, etc.,” he said.

In Wallowa County’s case, the microgrids may be a mix of various renewable energy sources, Basile said.

“We’re hoping to power the Joseph microgrid from hydropower on the new dam,” he said.

The Wallowa Lake Irrigation District, which owns the dam, is working with several other stakeholders to refurbish the century-old dam. That work will include upgrading its electricity-producing units, spokespeople have said.

Project spokespeople have estimated that ground will be broken on the now-$21 million project in the fall of 2024 after irrigation season.

In Enterprise, the microgrid largely will be solar power. There already is in the works one solar farm on the outskirts of town and Basile said another could be built.

In Wallowa, he said, it’s expected to be a combination of solar and biomass from the lumber mill there.

But the planning grant won’t begin to cover the cost of the actual microgrids, Basile said.

“I think our project will far exceed $1 million and we’ll be looking for other grants,” he said.

John Hillock, chair of the Wallowa County Board of Commissioners, agreed the grant application made the county money, but it was effectively controlled by Wallowa Resources.

“Our name is on the grant, but it’s directed to Wallowa Resources,” he said.

Basile said Wallowa Resources is working on the projects with several stakeholders, including the Energy Trust of Oregon and others he didn’t feel free to mention.

Basile, who said he will be the one managing the grant, also said that after a six-month planning period, depending on the strength of the project, Wallowa Resources will be eligible to apply for a construction grant of up to $1 million.