January 23, 2015
Oregon's Solar Policy Landscape

 

 

OSEIA and the Solar Works of Oregon (SWO) coalition have started our direct legislative efforts for the 2015 session. We have been working closely with our Government Affairs team, several influential legislators and industry stakeholders to advance solar legislation for all Oregonians.

 

Last week during the January Organizational Days OSEIA was in the building educating our decision makers as to how solar technology has advanced in the recent past and the types of jobs the solar industry creates.  Thank you to all that helped out!

 

This week members of OSEIA and SWO participated in the first work group organized and chaired by Representative Paul Holvey who has been a great champion for our industry. The Representative was also joined by Rep. Vega Pederson who is the newly appointed Chair of the House Energy and Environment Committee.

 

It was clear from the size of the workgroup that there is a lot of interest on solar legislation and policy for this session. The workgroup included: Representatives from labor, utilities, ratepayer advocates, environmental organizations and industry members.

 

The meeting focused on all of the solar legislative concepts being brought fourth, such as community solar, utility solar, RETC extension and the OSEIA / Solar Works for Oregon bill.  

 

We are now working final drafting of our bill for filing in the beginning of February.

 

If you are interested in seeing the bills that have been filed thus far you can check them out here.

 

The 78th Legislative Assembly will convene on Monday, February 2, 2015

 

We are working tirelessly on behalf of the solar industry. 

 

Thank you for your support! 

 

OSEIA is Looking for Board Members

Annual Meeting set for February 6th

 

OSEIA is looking for members to serve on our Board of Directors. We will have a vote on this at our annual member meeting on February 6th. If you are interested in serving on our bosrd of directors or attending the member meeting please contact Craig Ernst or Paul Israel. 

 

craig@oseia.org

paul@sunlightsolar.com
 

Pacific Power to Invest $1.8M in Solar Projects in the Pacific Northwest

 

Pacific Power has awarded $1.8 million to help bring solar projects to buildings in 10 communities across the region, including the Oregon Convention Center. Read more here.

Environment Oregon's Grassroots Campaign

Let's Make Oregon a Solar Leader 

 

Environment Oregon is a statewide, citizen-funded environmental advocacy organization representing over 40,000 Oregonians across the state. Our mission is to protect Oregon's air, water, and open spaces, and right now, our top priority is to make Oregon a solar leader nationally. Environment Oregon's team of citizen outreach staff is knocking on doors across the state, educating thousands of Oregonians on their doorsteps about upcoming solar legislation and how they can make a difference. By the end of the legislative session, our staff will knock on over 25,000 doors! We know that legislators are going to be listening for comments from their constituents, so through canvassing, online action alerts, and several different events, Environment Oregon will collect over 8,000 petitions to legislators, urging them to support these pro-solar bills. Please click here to get involved! or contact Charlotte directly: charlotte@environmentoregon.org

Coal to Clean Bill

Support SB 477 and HB 2729

 

The Coal to Clean Energy transition bill will move Oregon's investor-owned electric utilities Pacific Power and PGE off coal to clean, renewable energy sources by 2025 and preference local clean energy that creates jobs in and around Oregon for the replacement power. The Oregon Public Utility Commission will work with the utilities as they carry out the plan. The bill will:

  1. Set 2025 as the date to transition away from all coal use in Oregon's electricity mix
  2. Ensure the replacement power for coal is 90% cleaner, allowing for a replacement mix that is primarily clean, renewable energy like solar and wind
  3. Encourage local clean energy to promote job growth in the region rather than elsewhere whenever possible

Oregon's transition to clean, 21st century energy is happening now and the bill will help to further this progress. It's a switch that is creating jobs across the state and protecting families from air pollution and extreme weather linked to climate change. It's what Oregonians want and our state has already made important headway in moving from polluting fossil fuels like coal to clean, renewable energy sources like wind and solar.

 

Please click here for more information.

OSEIA Continuing Education

Featuring Operations & Maintenance with Ryan Mayfield

March 6th at SolarWorld

 

OSEIA Will be offering an 8 hour course for solar installers and electricians on March 6th at SolarWorld.
 

The course will feature 2 hours of Operations & Maintenance with Ryan Mayfield of Solar Energy International. As well as 4 hours of code change material and 2 hours of best practices with Andy Marks.

 

More information to follow. Click here to register.

Renewable Thermal Energy Projects

The Oregon Department of Energy's Incentives Program is accepting applications for "Renewable Thermal Energy Projects" Jan. 5, 2015 through Feb. 27, 2015. ODOE will review applications in two cycles: The first deadline is Jan. 30, 2015; the second is Feb. 27, 2015. The department will evaluate applications received by the close of the first cycle for completeness and may also be competitively reviewed. Successful applications will be offered a technical review. Applications not offered a technical review during the first cycle will be included in the review at the close of the second cycle. Depending on the number of applications, ODOE may end the selection process after the Jan. 30 deadline. The state has approximately $1 million in tax credits available for these projects. Please click here for more information.

NABCEP Continuing Education Conference

March 31 - April 1, 2015

 

The NABCEP Continuing Education conference is primarily intended for NABCEP Certified Professionals who need continuing education credits in order to maintain their certification. The content presented in this conference is geared toward seasoned PV industry professionals who have several years of installation and/or technical sales experience. This is the ideal opportunity for NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professionals and PV Technical Sales Professionals to obtain all of the continuing education credits needed for recertification (18 hours every three years). Non-certified professionals can earn up to 18 hours toward certification eligibility. More info here.

Solar Professionals Certificate Program

 

The SEI Solar Professionals Certificate Program (SPCP) goes beyond a "certification test prep" format of training and takes participants to a higher level of educational experience to truly prepare them for the solar industry and a career. The SEI SPCP is a selective admissions program to help ensure the success of our students and provide a highly trained workforce for the solar industry.  To determine a candidate's likelihood of program completion, alignment of career goals, and overall good fit for this professional training program, we require a certificate program application to be completed by every student candidate.  This is required for any certificate path and acceptance into the overall program.  Multiple Certificates can be earned by adding courses to your original Certificate Path. For more information e-mail Solar Energy International's Certificate Program Advisor, breccia@solarenergy.org or call Breccia Wilson in the Student Services department at (970) 963-8855 ext. 107.

Please click here to visit the website.

Bringing Solar Abroad

Local Installation Company to Install in Nepal

 

As part of this humanitarian Jordan Weisman at Sunbridge Solar wrote a Rotary Matching Grant that provided funding to install a 9kW solar array and battery back-up system for a remote hospital in the Acham district of Western Nepal. Gham Power, a Kathmandu based solar design and installation company, was chosen to execute on this project.

Read more here.

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