Oregon's Solar Rebates and Incentives Programs

Oregon Solar Rebates and Incentives

Just last year Oregon lawmakers passed one of the most ambitious renewable energy bills in the nation. The Renewable Energy Act requires that, by 2025, all major utilities in Oregon derive at least 25% of their power from renewable resources. This landmark law, combined with preexisting state tax credits and net metering, is pushing solar power, Oregon's most abundant renewable resource, to the forefront of the state's energy future.

TAX CREDITS

Residential Energy Systems Tax Exemption

This property tax law exempts the taxpayer from 100% of the assessed value of the home added via the purchase and installation of renewable energy systems.
Solar energy technologies included are:
- Passive Solar Heat
- Solar Water Heat
- Solar Space Heat
- Photovoltaics
- Solar Thermal Electric
- Solar Thermal Process Heat

Residential Energy Tax Credit

Encompassing PV, Passive solar heat, solar water heating and solar thermal space heating, this tax credit is a go-getter--mainly due to the high cap for PV systems. Incentive rates for photovoltaic systems are $3.00 per watt up to $6,000 or 50% of the total system cost. However, tax credits may not exceed $1,500 in a single year or the homeowner's tax liability for that year. The lesser of the two will determine the amount of incentive.
Credits for solar pool heating are $0.15/kWh saved in the first year after the system is installed. For all other systems the going rate is $0.60/kWh saved in the first year. The maximum credit allowed for all heating systems is $1,500.
Requirements for qualifying energy systems include:
- Certification from the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) before installation OR
- The system must be installed by an ODOE-certified contractor.
As of right now this tax credit will expire on December 31, 2015.

REBATE PROGRAMS

Oregon Energy Trust - Solar Water Heating Buy-down Program

The Oregon Energy Trust is a nonprofit, public-purpose organization designed to invest funding for energy efficiency and renewable energy in Oregon.
This buy-down program targets solar hot water systems and solar pool heating. Incentive rates are as follows:
- If you have an electric heating system (PGE, Pacific Power customers), you receive $0.40/kWh for hot water systems and $0.10/kWh for pool heating. Maximums are $1500 for hot water and $1000 for pool heating systems.
- If you have a gas heating system (NW Natural, Cascade Natural Gas), your rates are $0.30/kWh (up to $1500) for solar hot water and $0.07/kWh for pool systems (up to $1000)
Incentives are calculated by multiplying the appropriate incentive rate by the systems expected annual performance.
What sets this program apart from many others like it is the high incentive cap for pool heating systems.

Oregon Energy Trust - Solar Electric Buy-down Program

This program is designed for customers of Pacific Power and Portland General Electric (PGE). Rates are $2.00/watt for Pacific Power customers and $2.25/watt for PGE customers. The maximum on both is a whopping $10,000.
Requirements state that the system must be new. Minimum warranties are two years on parts and labor, five years for inverters, and 20 years on the panels themselves.,/li>
Self-installed systems are not eligible.
The system installer must be Energy Trust-certified and rebates are paid to the contractor and then deducted from the final cost of the system.

LOANS

Small Scale Energy Loan Program

Oregon also offers loans to homeowners and business looking to install renewable energy systems. Qualifying solar systems include Passive space heat, solar water heat, solar thermal, and PV.
While there are no specific range set for loan amounts, the loans are generally between $20,000 and $20 million. Terms for the loans will also vary but are generally set at 5-15 years. Loan terms may not exceed the life of the system.
Loan applications are available at the state of Oregon's website.

NET METERING

Net metering in Oregon includes ALL the utilities in the state, not just the investor-owned utilities, as is the case in most states. Nonetheless, compensation will vary by utility.
For customers of Oregon's investor-owned utilities, PGE and Pacific Power, net excess generation (NEG) is credited on the next month's bill. At the end of the annual billing cycle, the NEG is credited to customers enrolled in Oregon's low-income assistance programs.
While the handling of monthly NEG is the same, municipal utilities, cooperatives, and People's Utility districts have a bit more discretion when apportioning annual NEG. Excess electricity generated by the customer of these utilities may be credited to low-income customers, returned (at the avoided cost rate) to the generating customer, or designated for some "other use."

As is typical with Oregon (this writer's home state, I might add), things are done just a bit differently. The driving force behind Oregon's energy future will no doubt be the aggressive Renewable Energy Act. The state's buy-down programs, aside from relatively high caps, are nothing too special (nearly half that of Florida and New York's PV incentives, although Oregon's $6,000 cap is very generous!). Yet if you combine these with the slew of utility rebate programs available to customers, you are looking at some hefty discounts. And with such a strong renewable portfolio standard now in place, expect these and other incentives to increase fast.

Look here to find out about utility rebate programs in your area.