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September 2012
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| THIS NEWSLETTER IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY OUR GENEROUS SPONSORS: | |
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Thanks to our new and renewing Professional Members and Solar Supporters!
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| Solar Ambassadors |
Kerr Pioneers
 Portland, OR
Andy and Kathy Kerr installed their first 2 kW of pv back in 2001, before there were even any cash incentives or today's generous tax credits to help pay for the system! Then, in 2007, they installed an additional 2 kW! Thanks to super efficient appliances, like their Sunfrost refrigerator, those 4 kW churn out more electricity than the Kerr's home consumes. Now the Kerrs have an electric car to soak up some of that excess energy. Early adopters of solar AND electric vehicles...the Kerrs truly are pioneers!
>>Click here to read more about the Kerrs home.
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| Volunteer for Solar Oregon! |
 Interested in volunteering for our in-school energy education program? Contact Emily Krafft at emily@solaroregon.org.
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Stay up to date on solar news and events by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn!
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Want to see Amanda Fritz and Mary Nolan go toe-to-toe on energy and sustainability issues? Got a burning question for Jefferson Smith or Charlie Hales?
Join Solar Oregon and the Northwest Chapter of the Association of Energy Service Professionals (AESP) for our third political forum on energy and sustainability issues. All four candidates will compete in a Jeopardy-style quiz show, hosted by Portland comedian Chris Harder. And we're soliciting questions from YOU! What do YOU want to know?
Have a question for the candidates?
Solar Oregon, AESP NW, and Umpqua Bank will also be hosting a pre-forum networking event immediately preceding the forum at the Hawthorne Umpqua Bank store (across the street from The Bagdad) from 5:30 - 6:30 pm. Refreshments generously provided by Umpqua Bank.
For more information about this event, click here. To submit a question suggestion for the forum, click here. Many thanks to our generous sponsors!
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2012 Oregon Green & Solar Tours
Next Saturday, October 6th, is National Tour Day!
Have you always wanted to ask point-blank questions of someone who has taken a leap into the green? Do you have a burning desire to learn what it's like to live in a straw bale home? Is your deepest desire to find out what back yard chickens really eat? All this plus oh-so-cool solar energy can be poked and prodded on October 6th somewhere near you!  >> Click here for more information about the Oregon Green & Solar Tours
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Solar Cooling - using solar heat to cool our buildings!
Most of us would say that it is really hard to make solar thermal panels work for space heating in most of Oregon; after all, when we need the heat is when the days are the shortest and the sun is at it's lowest point in the sky....But what about using solar thermal panels to cool your house in the very sunny summer months in Oregon?
Recent advances in absorption chiller technology are starting to make solar cooling (i.e. solar air conditioning) become economically feasible.
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Solar Now! University equips solar champions in Bend
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Solar Oregon Board Member Doug Boleyn, with a panel he purchased in 1982!
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The third annual Solar Now! University in Bend was our most successful conference yet, with over 60 attendees and 15 communities across Oregon represented. From La Grande to Medford and Portland to Lakeview, community leaders came to learn about solar energy from the best in government, nonprofit, industry and fellow local champions.
Some of this year's most popular topics included community solar, financing and funding for businesses, public and community projects, and the evolution of Solarize programs across the state.
We also had a strong showing this year from Oregon's solar industry professionals, who were not only able to participate in conveying accurate and honest information to attendees about our current solar industry, but also were able to learn from communities about what products and services they would like to see the industry offer.
>>Click here to read more
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The perfect Solar SUNday
By Solar Oregon Board President Ron "Mac" McDowell
 The weather was perfect. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the abundance of sunrays was a welcome addition to our afternoon outdoor event. It was a celebration of solar energy after all. We were most appreciative because we had attempted this event once before, in September 2010, and had to cancel due to torrents of rain. This time our Solar SUNday event - held on September 16th - was a fabulous afternoon of fun in the sun, ahhhh ... the perfect day for BBQ, beer, educational workshops, silly contests and networking with solar enthusiasts! We were joined by people from all across the Portland metro area and as far away as Salem, Molalla, Cascade Locks, Newport, and Longview, WA.
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Fall membership drive is just getting started!
If you weren't able to attend the kick-off event to our fall membership drive, Solar SUNday, then you missed out on the special event membership pricing to join Solar Oregon. Well, we want YOU to be part of our organization, so we're extending this special offer to you for another month - until October 30th.
That's right ... you can now become a member for only $20 for your first year membership. Individual and family annual memberships are normally $40-$60, so we urge you to take advantage of this opportunity to join now. Just logon to our website via this link and join at the Student/Senior rate of $20. It's that simple.
Whether you decide to join or not, we do have one small request ... if you haven't already, we ask you to Like us on Facebook so that we can expand our reach via social media.
Thanks again for supporting Solar Oregon and for supporting clean energy here in the Pacific Northwest. Together we will make a difference.
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Thanks and happy trails to Michelle Udem!
Solar Oregon has a hard time holding onto our interns. Why? Because we attract such exceptional individuals to work with us at Solar Oregon, they are constantly getting snapped up by other organizations!
Our previous Communications Coordinator, Joe Balich, was snapped up in no time at all by Renewable Northwest Project and GreenSavers. (Good call, RNP and GreenSavers!) Joe's successor, Michelle Udem, ably filled Joe's shoes, and has been handling all of Solar Oregon's communications and news management tasks since the spring.
But it wasn't long before news of Michelle's skills and professionalism travelled, and PECI swooped in to capitalize on them. Michelle is now a Project Associate at PECI, and we know she'll do a fantastic job.
Thank you for your service to Solar Oregon, Michelle, and best of luck in your new position!
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Solar Drinks
Join us on October 16th at the Kenton Fire House for a presentation on the Solar HOPE Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to providing renewable energy solutions to underdeveloped regions of the world. Dr. Slobodan Petrovic, a professor in the Electrical Engineering and Renewable Energy Department at the Oregon Institute of Technology, has just returned from Tanzania, where he was assisting in the installation of solar systems on schools and community buildings, and training local Tanzanian students to maintain the systems.
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Energy Efficiency: The Next Generation 
The CUB Policy Center, in partnership with the University of Oregon School of Law, is pleased to announce its second annual policy conference, Energy Efficiency: The Next Generation.
The conference will take place on Friday, October 26, 2012, at the University of Oregon's White Stag Block (70 NW Couch St., Portland, OR 97209).
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Residential Energy Tax Credit Program Hearings
The Oregon Department of Energy is holding the last of three meetings to gather input on changes to its Residential Energy Tax Credits program on October 4th in Salem. The meeting will focus on a comprehensive review of the RETC rules.
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 Upcoming Events |
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