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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, July 9, 2007 Solar power makes meters spin backwards in Oregon By Alison Ryan, Daily Journal of Commerce PORTLAND, Ore. - Half - That's how much electricity Tom Gainer and Jackie Dingfelder's 2-kilowatt solar system contributes to their Northeast Portland home's energy use. "The meter, as we speak, is spinning backward," Gainer told a crowd at an event promoting Solar Now, a city campaign. The 1920s bungalow of Gainer, an Oregon Department of Environmental Quality project manager, and Dingfelder, a state representative, is one of the poster homes for Solar Now, which kicked off in January as a partnership among the city, Solar Oregon and Energy Trust of Oregon. The program got a boost as the U.S. Department of Energy picked Portland as one of 13 recipients of a $200,000 Solar America Cities grant. So far, said Susan Anderson, director of the city's Office of Sustainable Development, the program's events, newsletters and marketing push have had an effect. More than 800 people, she said, have requested information about solar since the program began. The program goal is installation of 100 solar hot-water and photovoltaic electric systems on Portland homes over the next year. The two-year Department of Energy grant will let the program up its outreach efforts, OSD spokeswoman Amy Stork said, as well as promote the variety of tax incentives available for solar installation. Right now, Stork said, there are not a lot of systems installed in Portland, "which is why we started this in the first place. We think we could triple the number." The federal money also means a deeper look at use of solar power in city operations. Solar technology is at work in many city parking meters as well as on the roofs of Fire Stations 16 and 25. "Cities like Portland can do solar," City Commissioner Dan Saltzman said, "defying conventional logic." Tax credits and incentives available in Oregon have added to solar's appeal. For residences, Energy Trust incentives and state and federal tax credits take the cost of a $20,000 2-kilowatt solar electric system down to between $7,000 and $8,000. For businesses, the cost drops from $153,000 to about $22,000 for a 17-kilowatt solar electric system. And the Oregon House of Representatives approved a tax credit package that will let businesses take a tax credit for about 50 percent - 35 percent was the previous credit of the cost of solar panel system installations. Dingfelder and Gainer's 2-kilowatt installation cost about $4,600 after the pair took advantage of available Energy Trust incentives and state and federal tax credits. "Do you want a new toilet," he said, "or do you want a clean, renewable source of your own energy?" Someone who wants his own energy source is Saltzman. The commissioner recently signed a commitment to install a solar system on his home. Solar Now, Anderson said, is being run like a campaign rather than a program, with home visits, tours and testimonials from home and business owners anticipated to spark more installations. "Once you've finished your project," she said, "we want to talk about you."

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