May 2015 Newsletter

In This Issue:
minigrantsThree Oregon Communities Selected to Receive $10K Solar Grants

Solar Oregon is exciting to announce the recipients of three $10,000 mini-grants to non-profits and local governments in Oregon to increase the deployment of rooftop solar. The three Oregon solar projects that were awarded the grants are in the communities of Bend, Eugene, and Happy Valley. 


 

The grants are provided by Northwest Solar Communities (NSC), a coalition of jurisdictions, utilities, industry partners and citizen groups working under the U.S. Department of Energy's Sunshot Initiative, Rooftop Solar Challenge program to reduce the "soft costs" associated with installing rooftop solar electricity.Projects that were eligible to apply for the mini-grants included solarize bulk purchase campaigns or other innovative solar market expansion projects focused on increasing grid-tied solar electric systems within the applicant's community, and may include residential, small commercial, agricultural or community scale systems.

 

Congrats to the recipients! Read more about how they are planning to increase the installation of rooftop solar in their communities.
NewEDSolar Oregon Hires Lisa Logie as new Executive Director 

The Board of Directors is pleased to announce the hiring of 
Lisa Logie as the new Executive Director of Solar Oregon.

Ms. Logie brings over 25 years of experience working for regional and statewide associations in energy and transportation.  

"Ms. Logie joins us with a wealth of experience in not-for-profit management, program management, fundraising and a host of other skills. She also has strong ties with the public utilities throughout Oregon and has vision to increase the presence and impact of Solar Oregon in rural communities," said Alan Scott, Solar Oregon Board President.  "I am looking forward to working with her as she applies her leadership, creativity and enthusiasm to advancing the mission of Solar Oregon." 
SWTSolar Winery Tour
Vidon Vineyard

Celebrate this early summer season by joining Solar Oregon on an amazing trip through wine country. Whether you enjoy learning about the role of solar energy in local winemaking or you just enjoy a good glass of Oregon wine, this is the event for you!

Held on June 6th, the tour will be hosted by three local solar-powered wineries: Vidon Vineyard, Laurel Ridge Winery, and Lemelson Vineyards.

Transportation will be provided to and from the Portland metro and Tualatin areas, along with tours of the wineries' solar power systems, a flight consisting of three wines at each winery, and lunch.

What could be better than a day of good company, great wine and solar energy?
HillsdaleHillsdale Solar Coalition: Solar Discounts, School Donations

If you been following the developments of solar over the past 6 years, there is a good chance you're familiar with solarize campaigns. You may have even installed solar on your home through one. The first solarize campaign started in 2009 in SE Portland and communities across Portland, Oregon, and the nation have run these bulk-purchase campaigns to allow homeowners and businesses to install solar at discounted rates.

We're constantly impressed by the local community leaders running these campaigns and even more amazed by how communities have adapted the solarize model to meet the unique challenges and opportunities in their community. Groups like Seeds for the Sol are using new community based wealth sharing models to finance installs in Corvallis. In Portland, the Hillsdale Solar Coalition is working pass solarize savings on to local schools.

Hillsdale solar discount = donations to schools
Hillsdale solar discount = donations to schools

To continue reading about the Hillsdale Solar Coalition, click here.
ShoutOutsSolar Shout Outs!

 

Congrats to the Portland and the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability for receiving national recognition for their solarize program. The City of Portland Solarize program is one of 25 honorees of the Innovation in American Government Award, bestowed by the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Solar advocates continue their work in Salem to improve solar policies. We have crossed the halfway point of the legislative session, and while the extension of the Volumetric Incentive Rate (also known as the  Feed-in-Tariff) has fallen by the wayside (HB 2541), there are still solar bills (and an energy storage bill) in the running. The solar bills include an incentive for large utility scale solar projects (HB 2632), as well as the potential design and implementation of community solar programs for investor-owned utilities in the state (HB 2941), and a solar hot water bill (HB 3344). Any bills that requiring state funding will be put under further pressure.

The Oregon Department of Energy announced the prospective recipients of $1.5 million in funding through its Renewable Energy Development grant program. Among the 17 prospective finalist are 16 solar PV projects. They range from just under $10,000, allocated for a $28,220 solar project at the Santiam Valley Ranch in Turner to several $250,000 grants for projects in Sheridan, Klamath Falls, and near St. Paul.

Curious about how the cost of solar fell so quickly? NPR's Planet Money recently did a show on how solar power got so cheap, so fast.

With the solar industry adding jobs 10 times faster than the rest of the economy, the President wants to train 75,000 new solar workers by 2020.
UpcomingEventsUpcoming Solar Oregon Events

Basics of Residential Solar Workshops
These free workshops cover the basics of why solar is a smart choice for Oregon homeowners, how well solar works in Oregon's climate, identify available solar technologies, how financial incentives may cover 70-80% of the cost, and discuss how to go about choosing a contractor. 

La Grande: June 26th & 27th


Salem: July 14th

 

Lake Oswego: July 21st


 

We will add additional workshops to the schedule here as they are confirmed.


Solar Winery Tour

Solar Now! University 2015: Sprinting Ahead
What can you do to help get more solar built in the Northwest? Find out at this year's Solar Now! University conference. Join local and regional government leaders working to make their communities open for solar business, community members organizing their neighbors for solarize campaigns, and solar industry professionals building their businesses. 

Partner Events
JoinSolarOregonJoin Solar Oregon Today! 


Solar Oregon works hard to get solar built in Oregon. But we can't do our work without the support of people like you! For 35 years, we've been making solar happen with workshops, tours, technical support, trainings, education, outreach, research, and advocacy. But we've still got a long way yet to go until Oregon's clean energy future is secure.

We'd love to have you as a member -- please consider joining today!

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