Victory! In 2007 the Governor signed HB 2620, a bill that will help deploy more solar energy across Oregon, into law. The bill requires that new government buildings include solar technology. 

With its unique abundance of renewable energy resources, Oregon is well-positioned to lead the country toward energy independence. Solar power is a resource that’s particularly well-suited for Oregon. Even Oregon’s rainiest areas get more sunshine than Germany, a world leader in solar power, and parts of eastern and southern Oregon get as much sun as California and Florida.

Solar power also provides unique benefits. It gives consumers and businesses the ultimate in energy independence by letting them generate renewable energy right where they’ll use it. It also reduces the need for long-distance transmission of electricity. Solar power also generates electricity right when it’s needed most – those hot summer days when air conditioners are running. Transmission at these peak electricity-consumption times reduces the need for what utilities call “peaking resources” – power plants built only to generate electricity for the highest-consumption days of the year.

Most people think of solar electric panels when they think of solar power. But solar also works to heat water for home use. Solar hot water heaters pre-heat water so that your water heater has to do a lot less work – and use a lot less natural gas or electricity – when you use hot water.

Incentives for Solar Power

Environment Oregon is working to gradually increase incentives for consumers and businesses to use solar power. In 2005, Environment Oregon increased tax credits for solar electric systems from $1,500 to $6,000. Right now, we’re supporting House Bill 3488, to increase those same tax credits to $9,000, and to increase a tax credit for solar hot water heaters from $1,500 to $3,000.

Environment Oregon is also supporting HB 2211, which creates a new tax credit for high-performance homes that use dramatically less energy than the average house, and that generate their own renewable energy so that they use close zero “net energy” from the grid over the course of a year.

Getting Paid to Produce Renewable Power

In addition to tax incentives, Oregonians who produce their own renewable energy using solar power are eligible to be paid by their utility for extra energy they produce. “Net metering” is a program that literally lets your electricity meter run backwards whenever your solar panels are producing more electricity than your house is using. Unfortunately, Oregon’s net metering policies are outdated – a size cap of 25 kilowatts for eligible systems means that while virtually all residences are eligible, larger businesses can’t maximize their solar potential.

Environment Oregon has spent nearly a year working in partnership with the Oregon Solar Energy Industries Association and the Renewable Northwest Project to promote an update to Oregon’s net metering program. Because of our advocacy, the Public Utility Commission is proposing to raise the maximum system size from 25 kilowatts to 2 megawatts – a forty-fold increase! In addition, the PUC is proposing to let people keep extra energy credits at the end of their billing month. Rather than get a small check (typically just a few dollars), consumers can use the energy credits against the next month’s bill. The credits can add up during the summer months and then be used to pay off bills during the winter months when solar power is generating less energy.