Solar power in Southeast Alaska is not a punch line about the region’s rainy weather. It could be an important part of a diversified power system to keep Wrangell homes and businesses lit up and warmed up, while burning less diesel fuel.

The Southeast Alaska Power Agency, which operates the Swan Lake hydroelectric power station in Ketchikan and the Tyee Lake hydropower plant to serve Wrangell and Petersburg, is looking to the sun for its next big investment to better serve Wrangell. The agency is making plans and going after federal funding to install a solar panel farm uphill near its substation on Zimovia Highway.

It’s a good location, next to the Tyee transmission line. Though the site isn’t entirely flat and level, it’s good enough for solar panels, which don’t need the same even terrain as a housing development.

It’s a good use of borough land for the benefit of the community.

And it’s certainly a good idea to reduce the town’s total dependence on diesel to provide power when there’s an interruption in service from Tyee.

But since the sun never shines enough in Wrangell, the power agency’s plan also includes backup batteries to store the solar power for when it’s needed. The batteries will not be large enough to run the town for days, but they will store enough power to provide a fast response and keep the system running while working toward an orderly shutdown at homes and offices.

During a power outage from Tyee, every kilowatt-hour that comes from solar power is a kitchen light or appliance, phone charger or game console, or electric hoist at the dock that doesn’t need costly diesel to stay in operation.

Of course, no good idea comes free of charge. The solar panels and batteries are estimated at around $6 million. Federal incentives could cover half, according to officials with the power agency, and the regional provider has asked for a federal grant to cover most of the remainder.

Good of the Southeast Alaska Power Authority to take a hard look at solar power as the light of the future, even if it’s hard to imagine it on cloudy days.