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Portland, OR
October 8, 2009: Portland receives Recovery Act funding for Solar America Cities Special Projects.
Credit: Portland Oregon Visitors Association
The City of Portland’s Solar America Cities project builds on the City's existing Solar Now! program. The program will pursue solar market transformation for Portland residents, businesses, and city operations. Project partners will work with other city bureaus to streamline city-level regulations for contractors, homeowners, and businesses. The city will use its influence as a regulator, educator, and motivator to reach the larger regional community.
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Portland Water Bureau Meter Shop. This 12 KW array is the largest system entirely owned by the City of Portland.
Credit:TravelPortland.com
Portland’s solar-powered parking meters
Credit:Energy Trust of Oregon
Photovoltaic (solar electric or “PV”) panels were installed on the south façade and roof of Brewery Blocks Building #4 in Portland's Pearl District.
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Activities
The City of Portland will facilitate market transformation as an end user of solar technology on its own facilities. The city will also use proven marketing and outreach strategies to promote solar adoption within the commercial and residential building sectors. Solar Now! will work with other jurisdictions to promote solar as a renewable energy option. In collaboration with its partners and in partnership with the DOE, the City of Portland expects to have become a leader in solar energy by 2010.
- Increase the installation rate of private solar-energy systems so the expected number of 2009 installations is greater than 400% of 2006 installations
- Provide solar education through workshops, informational tables, green building trainings, Build-it-Green tour, and Northwest Solar Expo.
- Promote solar to visible Portland-area leaders.
- Partner with Portland’s economic development agency.
- Provide personal follow-up on leads.
- Document, evaluate, and refine the program to increase future demand beyond the 2009 goal.
- Adopt solar market transformation goals and strategies through consultation with a task force of industry, government and academic leaders.
- Streamline city-level regulations and practices that affect adoption of solar
- Educate regulatory staff and regional solar contractors.
- Investigate regulatory barriers and leverage points.
- Assist other jurisdictions in the Portland region in adopting and implementing solar goals and strategies
- Convene a regional Solar Leadership Conference in spring 2009.
- Develop a presentation on lessons learned from Solar Now!
- Provide ongoing technical assistance to other cities.
- Evaluate solar potential on city facilities.
- Evaluate the best financing options.
- Integrate solar into city design guidelines for the central city.
Partners
- The City of Portland, Bureau of Planning & Sustainability (Project Lead)
- Energy Trust of Oregon
- Oregon Department of Energy
- Oregon Solar Energy Industries Association
- Solar Oregon
Solar Now! Regional Outreach CampaignThe City will deliver the Solar Now! marketing toolkit to ten new communities in the region to create a corps of well-informed, well-trained solar volunteers across Oregon.
Neighborhood-Based Volume Solar PurchasingThe City will facilitate volume purchasing of solar energy systems in four Portland neighborhoods to bring down installed costs and increase the rate of installation.
Residential Solar Power Purchase Agreement Model for Utility-Bill FinancingThe city will incorporate a residential solar power purchase agreement into Portland’s new clean energy financing program, Clean Energy Works Portland.
Neighborhood-Scale Distributed Energy SystemsThe City will identify and remove regulatory barriers to neighborhood-scale shared renewable energy utilities, focusing on a pilot project involving combining a PV system with ground source heat pumps to heat and cool water for a 40-block area.
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