Solar power Solar power is the conversion of energy from sunlight into electricity, either directly using photovoltaics (PV) or indirectly using concentrated solar power. Photovoltaic cells convert light into an electric current using the photovoltaic e ...

has been growing in the U.S. state of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

in recent years due to new technological improvements and a variety of regulatory actions and financial incentives enacted by the state government.

Government policy

The

Government of Oregon The government of the U.S. state of Oregon, as prescribed by the Oregon Constitution, is composed of three government branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. These branches operate in a manner similar to that of the federal g ...

has taken a variety of actions to encourage solar energy use and manufacturing within the state. A 2017 law states that

homeowners association A homeowner association (or homeowners' association, abbreviated HOA, sometimes referred to as a property owners' association or POA), or a homeowner community, is a private association-like entity often formed either ''ipso jure'' in a building ...

s cannot ban solar panels.

Net metering

The state has a

net metering Net metering (or net energy metering, NEM) is an electricity billing mechanism that allows consumers who generate some or all of their own electricity to use that electricity anytime, instead of when it is generated. This is particularly importa ...

program that allows for large installations of up to 2 MW of on-site electrical generation. A report released in 2009 by the Network for New Energy Choices and Vote Solar gave the state's net metering system an "A" grade, a rating only 9 other states received.

Renewable portfolio standard

The state adopted a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) in 2007 which requires that 25% of Oregon's electricity come from renewable resources by 2025. The RPS was revised in 2009 to include a separate 20 MW solar

photovoltaic Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...

requirement by 2020.

Construction budget mandate

Passed in the 2007 legislative session, House Bill 2620, requires that public entities such as state and local governments spend 1.5% of the construction budget for new or renovated buildings on on-site solar technologies.

Financial incentives

Solar Within Reach

Solar Within Reach is a program through the

Energy Trust of Oregon Energy Trust of Oregon is an independent nonprofit organization based in Portland, Oregon, that helps utility customers in Oregon benefit from efficient energy use and generating renewable energy. Energy Trust offers services, cash incentives, and ...

that provides incentives for income-qualified families. Adding a solar power system to your home can greatly reduce your energy bills, and this program is designed to help offset the costs of installing such a system, so you can reap the benefits without a big startup cost.

Oregon Solar + Storage Rebate Program

In 2019, HB 2618 was passed, which created a new ODOE solar rebate program through the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE). This rebate program allows residential solar energy customers as well as low-income service providers in Oregon to receive rebates for solar energy systems, whether they are stand-alone systems or paired with a solar energy storage system.

Residential Energy Tax Credit

The Residential Energy Tax Credit (RETC) program aims to encourage residents to invest in energy efficient appliances or residential-scale power producing systems such as roof-mounted solar or small wind setups by offering a tax credit that covers a certain percentage of the cost of eligible equipment.

Business Energy Tax Credit

The Business Energy Tax Credit (BETC) program aims to encourage private businesses to invest in renewable energy in Oregon by offering a tax credit that covers up to 50% of eligible renewable projects such as

power stations A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many pow ...

or manufacturing factories with a maximum limit of $20 million per project.

State Energy Loan Program

The State Energy Loan Program aims to encourage investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy production by offering long-term, fixed-rate loans to all types of organizations and individuals with a maximum cap at $20 million per loan. From the time it was first authorized by voters in 1980, the program has made over 700 loans worth a total of $335 million.

Feed-in tariff

The

Oregon Legislative Assembly The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the Ho ...

established a

feed-in tariff A feed-in tariff (FIT, FiT, standard offer contract,Couture, T., Cory, K., Kreycik, C., Williams, E., (2010)Policymaker's Guide to Feed-in Tariff Policy Design National Renewable Energy Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy advanced renewable tariff, ...

for solar power modeled on

feed-in tariffs in Germany Feed-in electricity tariffs (FiT) were introduced in Germany to encourage the use of new energy technologies such as wind power, biomass, hydropower, geothermal power and solar photovoltaics. Feed-in tariffs are a policy mechanism designed to ac ...

, allowing owners of solar installations to be paid for the electricity they produce. On May 28, 2010, the

Oregon Public Utility Commission The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) is the chief electric, gas and telephone utility regulatory agency of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. It sets rates and establishes rules of operation for the state's investor-owned utility c ...

approved the trial feed-in tariff rules. Under the approved rules, residents and businesses who install solar systems can enter a 15-year contract with investor-owned utilities in the state where they will receive guaranteed monthly payments over the life of the contract with rates ranging from $0.55 to $0.65 per

kWh A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bil ...

. Funding will come from an estimated one half of 1% increase in electricity rates. The trial program ends after four years and the entire project's size is limited to a maximum 25 MW. Program applications are accepted biannually on April 1 and October 1. The final year of the pilot program is 2013.

Manufacturing

Many solar manufacturing companies have chosen to operate in Oregon because of its cheap hydroelectric power which is important for manufacturing and because of its close proximity to California's large market. The inexpensive hydroelectric power has also contributed to the high-tech manufacturing companies located in the state's

Silicon Forest Silicon is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a hard, brittle crystalline solid with a blue-grey metallic luster, and is a Tetravalence, tetravalent metalloid and semiconductor. It is a member ...

as well as several data centers such as Google's

Project 02 Google data centers are the large data center facilities Google uses to provide their services, which combine large drives, computer nodes organized in aisles of racks, internal and external networking, environmental controls (mainly cooling an ...

. Oregon was one of the only three states (along with Michigan and Ohio) to manufacture more than 100 MW of solar panels during 2009.

SolarWorld SolarWorld is a German company dedicated to the manufacture and marketing photovoltaic products worldwide by integrating all components of the solar value chain, from feedstock (polysilicon) to module production, from trade with solar panels to ...

's plant in

Hillsboro, Oregon Hillsboro ( ) is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Situated in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city hosts many high-technology companies, ...

is the largest solar cell manufacturing factory in North America and is planned to produce 500 MW of panels annually by 2012.

Companies

Solar companies with operations in Oregon include

Sanyo , stylized as SANYO, is a Japanese electronics company and formerly a member of the Fortune Global 500, ''Fortune'' Global 500 whose headquarters was located in Moriguchi, Osaka, Moriguchi, Osaka prefecture, Japan. Sanyo had over 230 subsidiari ...

, PV Powered/Advanced Energy, PV Trackers, Oregon Crystal, Grape Solar, Solaicx, and Peak Sun Silicon.

Notable projects

Solar panels on State Capitol

In 2002 Oregon became the first state to install solar panels on its state capitol building. The solar panels were installed on the

Oregon State Capitol The Oregon State Capitol is the building housing the state legislature and the offices of the governor, secretary of state, and treasurer of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located in the state capitol, Salem. Constructed from 1936 to 1938 ...

building, although they are not visible from the street.

Solar highways

Oregon I-5, I-205 interchange solar highway (2008-12-04)

In 2008, the

Oregon Department of Transportation The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) is a department of the state government of the U.S. state of Oregon responsible for systems of transportation. It was first established in 1969. It had been preceded by the Oregon State Highway Depar ...

announced the completion of a 104 kW solar panel project along the interchange of

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...

and

I-205 Interstate 205 may refer to either of two unconnected Interstate Highways in the United States, both of which are related to Interstate 5 * Interstate 205 (California), a connector in the San Francisco Bay Area * Interstate 205 (Oregon–Washingt ...

near

Tualatin, Oregon Tualatin () is a city located primarily in Washington County in the U.S. state of Oregon. A small portion of the city is also located in neighboring Clackamas County. It is a southwestern suburb in the Portland Metropolitan Area that is located ...

. The project is the first solar highway in Oregon and the first in the United States. In January 2012, the

announced the completion of its second solar highway project with a 1.75 megawatt capacity at its Baldock Safety Rest Area south of Wilsonville. A 165 kW expansion to the first project is under study, as is a potential third solar highway project with a capacity of 3 megawatts at ODOT's maintenance storage facility in West Linn. The 3 megawatt project in

West Linn, Oregon West Linn is a city in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. A southern suburb within the Portland metropolitan area, West Linn developed on the site of the former Linn City, which was named after U.S. Senator Lewis F. Linn of Ste. Genevieve ...

would be the largest solar highway in the world, slightly passing the 2.8 megawatt record holder in Germany.

U.S. Department of Energy partnership

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

is one of the 25 cities in the

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...

's Solar America Cities program. The program's goal is to "rapidly increase the use and integration of solar energy in communities across the country."

Statistics

Potential generation

Solar energy is the state's most abundant energy resource and estimates have placed the state's potential electricity production from solar power at 68,000,000

MWh A kilowatt-hour (unit symbol: kW⋅h or kW h; commonly written as kWh) is a unit of energy: one kilowatt of power for one hour. In terms of SI derived units with special names, it equals 3.6 megajoules (MJ). Kilowatt-hours are a common bil ...

s annually, an amount larger than the state's total electricity consumption of 46,457,000 MWh in 2005.

Installed capacity

Utility-scale generation

References

External links

Oregon Solar Energy Industries Association Official Site
– State chapter of the

Solar Energy Industries Association The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), established in 1974, is the national non-profit trade association of the solar-energy industry in the United States. In 2019, the group reported at least 1,000 member companies. SEIA is a 501(c ...

Solar Oregon Official Site
– State chapter of the

American Solar Energy Society The American Solar Energy Society (ASES) is an association of solar professionals and advocates in the United States. Founded in 1954, ASES is dedicated to inspiring energy innovation and speeding up the transition toward a sustainable energy ec ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Solar Power In Oregon

Energy in Oregon