Oregon's rock star

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A few weeks back, I made a half-hearted attempt to nail down some Neil Young tickets to attend the Portland leg of his upcoming tour. I say it was half-hearted because I logged-on a few hours after the tickets went on sale (my wife isn’t a fan), but by then it was too late for the sold-out event.

As popular as his show is, when compared to the recent launch of Oregon’s solar "feed-in tariff" pilot program, Mr. Young finished a distant second place. By some estimates it took less than half an hour to hit the cap on the first wave of Oregon’s latest attempt wean its citizens off fossil-based energy.

Under the "feed-in tariff" pilot program, solar system owners will be able to sell the energy they produce back to participating utilities at rates more than five times retail electricity rates. They also will be eligible for select federal tax credits. This phase of the program is primarily structured toward small- and medium-sized solar producers — such as residential and small business systems — but projects of up to 500 kilowatts also qualify.

The Oregon Public Utility Commission recently issued final rules for the program that offers an alternative to more traditional financing of solar projects. Past projects have been financed with a combination of state business energy tax credits (BETCs), incentives from the Energy Trust of Oregon, federal tax credits and credits from the utility based on the energy produced by the solar facility but not used by the customer.

The solar pilot program is an experiment; it is another incentive approach, one similar to those used by European governments to launch some of the largest solar markets in the world. Based on this initial response, we are excited about the new solar pilot and optimistic that it will yield significant learning opportunities. Based on the OPUC rules, the next opportunity will reduce the price by 10 percent; over time, we will garner important data and lessons about what works well and what does not when it comes to factors for successful solar incentives.

Oregon’s feed-in tariff pilot program is no accident. The program was largely the result of a good deal of hard work by a group of Oregonians selected by Governor Ted Kulongoski to determine how best to incentivize the use of more renewable energy. It also comes on the heels of a body of unprecedented renewable energy incentives, including the state’s renewable portfolio standard, and the much-maligned Business Energy Tax Credit.

Those programs have lead Oregon to top the nation in solar manufacturing industry presence and is home to corporate headquarters for world leaders in the renewable energy industry. To date, Oregon has $2 billion in investments in renewable energy projects. Renewable energy investments in Oregon have meant over 1,600 jobs created, over $76 million in farmland leased and over $142 million in property taxes and community service fees contributed.

Himself a big supporter of renewable energy, Mr. Young regularly barnstorms the country in support of renewable energy causes. I’ll bet he’d be proud to know his ticket sales took second place to Oregon’s enthusiasm for solar power.

John J. Audley is Deputy Director for the Renewable Northwest Project. RNP is a regional nonprofit advocacy organization promoting responsible development of renewable energy resources in the Pacific Northwest.