Signed by Governor Kate Brown

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that establishes a program to incentivize solar energy production, effective immediately.

Highlights:

• Requires the Oregon Business Development Department to establish a program that incentivizes the generation of electricity derived from solar energy (Sec. 1).

• Specifies that the solar energy incentives program is closed to new applicants when solar photovoltaic energy systems have a cumulative maximum output of 150 megawatts, or on January 2, 2017 (Sec. 1).

• Authorizes an owner or operator of a solar photovoltaic energy system to participate in the program, if the system meets requirements including, but not limited to, the following requirements (Sec. 1):
• The system has a maximum output between 2 and 10 megawatts;
• The system has a commercial operations date of January 1, 2016 or later; and
• The system has a meter that measures the quantity of energy generated.

• Requires the Oregon Business Development Department to make a monthly payment to a program enrollee of $0.005 per kilowatt hour of electricity generated by a solar photovoltaic energy system, for up to 5 years (Sec. 1).

• Reduces the number of monthly payments by 1 month for every month the program enrollee’s solar photovoltaic energy system does not generate electricity in the first year of enrollment (Sec. 1).

• Specifies that if a program enrollee’s solar photovoltaic energy system does not generate electricity within 2 years of enrollment, the system is removed from the program (Sec. 1).

Full Bill Text