Local Geothermal Efforts Get $Millions of Stimulus Funds

Feds give $30 million for Newberry geothermal work
From KTVZ.COM news sources – Oct 29, 2009 03:00 PM PDT

New form of geothermal energy system could spring to life at Newberry Volcanic Monument

Continuing efforts to advance alternative energy resources and break our dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) announced nearly $40 million in Recovery Act funding for the exploration and development of geothermal energy technologies in Oregon.

“This funding will literally help to bring Oregon’s geothermal energy potential to the surface,” Wyden said. “It will create and sustain jobs improving alternative energy technology to better tap into Oregon’s unique set of renewable energy resources.”

“The Recovery Act continues to spur growth in the emerging clean energy industry,” Merkley said.  “These projects will create new jobs and solidify Oregon’s position as a leader in renewable energy production.”

Distributed by the U.S. Department of Energy, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding will support and create seven Oregon-based geothermal projects.

The funding dramatically increases geothermal energy development both in Oregon and nationwide and is a large step toward comprehensive utilization of alternative energy resources throughout the state.

Multiple Factors Drive the Price of PV Solar Down

More Sun for Less: Solar Panels Drop in Price
By Kate Galbraith – New York Times -August 26, 2009

When Greg Hare looked into putting solar panels on his ranch-style home in Magnolia, Tex., last year, he decided he could not afford it. “I had no idea solar was so expensive,” he recalled.

But the cost of solar panels has plunged lately, changing the economics for many homeowners. Mr. Hare ended up paying $77,000 for a large solar setup that he figures might have cost him $100,000 a year ago.

“I just thought, ‘Wow, this is an opportunity to do the most for the least,’ ” Mr. Hare said.

For solar shoppers these days, the price is right. Panel prices have fallen about 40 percent since the middle of last year, driven down partly by an increase in the supply of a crucial ingredient for panels, according to analysts at the investment bank Piper Jaffray.

The price drops — coupled with recently expanded federal incentives — could shrink the time it takes solar panels to pay for themselves to 16 years, from 22 years, in places with high electricity costs, according to Glenn Harris, chief executive of SunCentric, a solar consulting group. That calculation does not include state rebates, which can sometimes improve the economics considerably.

New Law Provides Energy Loans to Oregon Homeowners

Bill offers home insulation retrofits
An Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Technology law will provide $15 million in loans in the next 2 years
 
By David Steves – The Register-Guard – August 3, 2009

How would you like to be able to add insulation that keeps your house cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter — and then pay for it with the money you could end up saving on your utility bill over the next 20 years?

It may sound too good to be true, but it’s just what new state legislation promises to deliver.

The new Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Technology bill, signed into law in Eugene by Gov. Ted Kulongoski, will provide $15 million in loans over the next two years to Oregon homeowners. Unlike conventional home improvement loans, the money can be repaid with utility bills.

The bill’s authors, including Rep. Chris Edwards, D-Eugene, say they fully expect that the reduced energy usage — and lower utility bills — will provide consumers with enough savings to pay back the loans.

Edwards was part of a bipartisan group of House members who came up with the bill and worked it through the 2009 session. It is now awaiting Oregon Department of Energy rule-making so it can be tested in a few areas.

Eugene is one of five places in Oregon to express interest in piloting the program. If it’s included as a testing area, then Eugene residents could be taking out loans and hiring contractors to retrofit their homes for greater energy efficiency or to add renewable energy components by late this year or early next year, Edwards said.

Lane CC to Build Electric Vehicle Charging Station – Why Not COCC?

It seems like it should be a no-brainer for the utility companies that service Central Oregon to put together a similar program.  And an electrical vehicle charging station designed and built by students from Central Oregon Community College would be natural in an area where, according to the local tourism bureaus, the sun shines over 300 days a year.

# # #

Lane Community College receives first EWEB Greenpower grant
Eugene Water & Electric Board Website – April 18, 2009

Lane Community College received a $100,000 grant from EWEB [Greenpower Grant Program] to build a solar-powered electric vehicle charging station for students and the community. EWEB’s Greenpower customers voted for the LCC project from among five local renewable energy and education projects.

The Greenpower grant will be combined with other funds to build the electric vehicle charging station. A grid of solar panels will be constructed, which will power 36 outlets to recharge plug-in electric or hybrid vehicles on the main LCC campus. Other funding will come from part of a recently passed LCC bond measure.

The LCC project will create opportunities for students to learn about how to install, repair and service the new solar array and vehicle charging station, will lower the community’s carbon footprint, will generate renewable energy, and will help the community learn more about the emerging technology of plug-in vehicles.

Eugene Utility Makes Renewable Energy Grants

EWEB Greenpower customers to award grant
The utility will make up to $100,000 available for a single renewable energy project, with smaller grants planned for fall
By Susan Palmer – The Register-Guard – January 17, 2009

The Eugene Water & Electric Board on Friday announced a series of [Greenpower Grant Program] grants for renewable energy projects and invited its Greenpower customers to vote on who gets the first award.

The local utility will make up to $100,000 available this spring for a single project, with smaller grants up to $25,000 available in the fall, said Tom Williams, EWEB’s key accounts manager.

The money for the projects comes from EWEB customers who buy renewable energy either in the form of $1.50 or $10 blocks of power, or who pay an extra penny per kilowatt-hour to support EWEB’s wind farm and solar power projects.

EWEB invests those revenues back into renewable energy, and decided that supporting smaller-scale local projects could benefit groups such as schools, nonprofit organizations and public agencies that normally wouldn’t have the money to finance them upfront, Williams said.

Another Oregon Winery Embraces Solar Power

Oregon wineries go solar
OPB News – November 24, 2008
 
Sun rays hit a spread of solar panels on the winery’s rooftop, and owners Robin and Danuta Pfeiffer watched as their electric meter’s dial spun backward.

They were putting power back on the grid as the sun light converted to electricity and powered both the winery and the couple’s home in the southern Willamette Valley.

The Pfeiffer Winery, which produces about 1,500 cases of wine each year, is one of at least five Oregon wineries to go solar.

Torri Mor Winery, Stoller Vineyards, Schafer Vineyard Cellar and Sokol Blosser Winery have also installed solar panels to power their businesses.

Central Oregon Irrigation District Juniper Ridge Hydropower Solicitation

Irrigation canals in Central Oregon are now being looked at as more than just a way to distribute water from the Deschutes River to farmers and ranchers.  Now days, with energy costs rising and the desirability or renewable energy sources, the power of water rushing through the canals is looked at as a source of power and revenue.  The Swalley Irrigation District may have a 1 MW plant on line by April 2009, and Central Oregon Irrigation District’s 3.7 MW plant, reported on below,  is looking at May 2010 for completion date. Both irrigation-based hydro power plants will be located north of Bend.

# # #

Open Solicitation Juniper Ridge 3.27 MW Hydropower
January 23, 2008

Summary:

Central Oregon Irrigation District (COID) proposes to install a hydropower project totaling 3.27 megawatts (MW) approximately seven miles north of downtown Bend. The project is expected to be completed in May, 2010. 

Proposed Central Oregon Community College Allied Sciences Building Gets Solar Grant

Pacific Power, through its Blue Sky renewable energy program, recently awarded Central Oregon Community College a $160,000 grant that will help pay for a solar array on top of the proposed Allied Sciences Building.

The grant will help fund a 62-kilowatt solar photovoltaic array atop the three-story building.  Assuming a successful November 2008 bond measure vote, construction could begin in 2010. The building would be dedicated to science and health career education and house classes on renewable energy studies. The building itself will be as energy efficient as possible and model renewable energy values.

The students of COCC have dedicated a portion of their fees to ensure that by using Blue Sky, the college buys renewable power equal to 100 percent of COCC’s electricity use. COCC was the first community college in the nation to take such a step.

Bend’s Downtown Parking Garage Gets Solar Power

Although this project has been talked about for some time, city officials say they have finalizing the design of the city of Bend’s first solar energy project.

Work is expected to begin next spring on the project that will sit on top of the Centennial Parking Plaza at 61 NW Oregon Avenue. The city is using a $400,000 grant from Pacific Power’s Blue Sky Projects the city and is partnering with Bend-based SunEnergy Power Corporation to set up the 200 kW project.

With nearly 20 rows of solar panels mounted to steel trusses above the entire top level of the garage, the system will be one of the largest solar installations in Oregon.

SunEnergy, who will own the system, will bear the entire cost of buying, installing and maintaining the solar array, which will produce about 280,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. That energy, enough to power about two dozen homes continuously, will be sold directly to the city.