Oregon Department of Energy Grant Program Supports Renewable Energy Projects from Ashland to Ontario
Community Renewable Energy Grant Program dollars support renewable and resilient energy projects, such as rooftop solar, for Oregon Tribes, consumer-owned utilities, and other public bodies.
SALEM — The Oregon Department of Energy has selected 21 recipients for a total of $12 million in Community Renewable Energy Grant Program funds. The program supports planning and construction of renewable energy or energy resilience projects for Tribes, public bodies, and consumer-owned utilities.
ODOE received 68 applications that would support about $27 million in projects for this first round of funding, and awards were chosen on a competitive basis with the help of a grant application evaluation committee. Committee members considered project feasibility and strength, equity considerations, cost savings, economic development, and other features before selecting the 21 awarded projects.
The Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians will receive $1 million to support construction of two microgrid systems that pair renewable solar and battery storage to provide energy and resilience benefits to Tribal buildings. Wallowa County will use $100,000 to develop a plan for “resilience hubs” in the cities of Joseph, Wallowa, and Enterprise – each hub will pair renewable energy generation with battery storage and electric vehicle charging. Jackson County School District will use nearly $978,000 in grant funds to construct a 107.8-kilowatt solar system with battery storage at a local elementary school. The school is designated as a critical facility for emergency operations in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency; the solar plus storage installation will ensure the building retains critical backup power. Eighteen other funded projects will also support renewable energy or resilience planning and construction projects across the state.
“The Oregon Department of Energy is proud to support projects that will add renewable energy and strengthen resilience in Oregon communities,” said ODOE Director Janine Benner. “We were pleased to receive so much interest in the program and look forward to future rounds of funding to support even more projects for Oregon Tribes, city and county governments, educational organizations, consumer-owned utilities, and other public bodies.”
ODOE will finalize performance agreements with the awardees, which outline their responsibilities for receiving the funds. After finalizing the agreements, the agency may release up to 30 percent of the grants, with the remaining funds released upon project completion and verification.
The Community Renewable Energy Grant Program was created by the Oregon Legislature in 2021 to support projects outside Portland city limits, with a total budget of $50 million. ODOE will make additional rounds of funding available through 2024.
Grant Recipients
Awards were granted for four types of projects:
Planning for a renewable energy project that also provides community resilience benefits (Planning/Resilience)
Planning for a renewable energy project (Planning/Renewable)
Construction of a renewable energy project that also provides community resilience benefit (Construction/Resilience)
Construction of a renewable energy project (Construction/Renewable)
Academy for Character Education | Planning/Renewable | $100,000 | Planning for a net-metered solar system on a renovated school building with connected battery storage to power emergency lighting.
Burns Paiute Tribe | Planning/Renewable | $89,718 | Planning to connect a local community cooperative biomass district heating system to the Tribal community center in Burns
City of Ashland | Construction/Resilience | $940,000 | A community energy resilience project of net-metered solar power with battery storage, electric vehicle chargers and a microgrid system to provide electricity to Ashland city services during a grid outage.
City of Gresham | Construction/Resilience | $579,841 | A community energy resilience project, in partnership with the Latino Network, for a community center rooftop solar and battery backup system to allow the building to continue to serve the community in the event of grid outages.
City of Hillsboro | Planning/Renewable | $100,000 | Planning for a community renewable energy project by the Hillsboro water system for hydroelectric generation.
City of John Day | Planning/Resilience | $100,000 | Planning for a net-metered solar system, inline hydro power system, pump hydro and battery storage to power a water pump and water reclamation and treatment systems.
City of Mosier | Construction/Resilience | $598,438 | A community energy resilience project that consists of net-metered rooftop solar and battery storage with a microgrid system, allowing the project to supply electricity during grid outages. The system will be installed in Mosier's new net-zero Joint Use Facility that will house the city hall and fire station. The building will serve as an incident command center, emergency response hub and community shelter in emergencies.
City of Ontario | Construction/Renewable | $900,000 | A community renewable energy project partnership to complete the construction of the Verde Light Oregon Community Solar project so the City of Ontario and other Idaho Power customers can subscribe to this Oregon Community Solar project.
City of Pendleton | Construction/Renewable | $816,424 | A community renewable energy project to install a net-metered solar system at the water treatment plant. In addition to electricity generation, the system will improve the efficiency of the chlorine contact chamber by providing cooling shade.
City of Pendleton | Construction/Resilience | $850,000 | A community energy resilience project, in partnership with the Buckaroo Solar 1 Oregon Community Solar project to provide solar powered microgrid with battery storage to power the the Pendleton water treatment plant in the event of grid outages. This project also assists the completion of the Buckaroo Solar 1 Oregon Community Solar project, allowing Pendleton and other Pacific Power customers to subscribe to the solar energy produced under Oregon Community Solar rules.
City of Salem | Construction/Resilience | $1,000,000 | A community energy resilience project, in partnership with PGE, to create a solar powered community microgrid with battery storage and electric vehicle charging. The system will connect to a solar array on, and serve Salem's new Public Works Operations building and its electric vehicle charging stations, allowing it to function during grid outages. The microgrid will serve 96 apartments in six buildings, 34 homes, one local business, three other government buildings, and a cellular communications tower, providing uninterrupted power during grid outages.
City of Talent | Planning/Renewable | $45,000 | Planning for a partnership with an Oregon Community Solar developer and local business (land owner) for an Oregon Community Solar Project to allow the City and other Pacific Power customers to subscribe to the project under OCS rules.
Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua & Siuslaw Indians | Construction/Resilience | $1,000,000 | A community energy resilience project with net-metered solar and battery storage with microgrid systems to power tribal buildings during grid outages.
Confederated Tribes of Umatilla Indian Reservation | Construction/Renewable | $1,000,000 | A community renewable energy project, in partnership with the Tutuilla Solar Oregon Community Solar project. This project consists of a net-meter solar system to be installed to serve a Tribal housing project and to assist the completion of the Tutuilla Solar Oregon Community Solar project located on Tribal property, allowing the Tribe and other Pacific Power customers to subscribe to the solar energy produced under Oregon Community Solar rules.
Deschutes County | Construction/Renewable | $1,000,000 | A community renewable energy project, in partnership the Mt. Bachelor Ski Report for Biomass district heating system to replace a propane heating system for four buildings at the Mt. Bachelor Ski Report. The biomass plant burns forest waste (understory) that would otherwise be burned openly in slash piles.
High Desert Biomass Cooperative (HDBC) | Construction/Resilience | $627,585 | A community energy resilience project in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, that will expand the capacity and customer base of the cooperative-owned biomass-powered district heating system. This expansion will bring heating to the Veterans Village apartments and allow more local customers to be added. The biomass plant burns forest waste (understory) that would otherwise be burned openly in slash piles.
Jackson County School District No. 6 | Construction/Resilience | $977,995 | A community energy resilience project putting net-metered rooftop solar on the Center Point elementary school with battery storage and a microgrid systems to provide power to critical circuits during grid outages.
Klamath Community College | Planning/Resilience | $50,600 | Planning for the on-campus installation of a net-metered rooftop solar system with battery storage, critical load circuits, and electric vehicle charging for eight stations
Lane Community College | Planning/Renewable | $100,000 | Planning for expanding renewable energy installations on campus.
Southern Oregon University | Construction/Resilience | $1,000,000 | A community energy resilience project putting net-metered rooftop solar on two campus buildings with battery storage in one building to supply a critical load circuit.
Wallowa County | Planning/Resilience | $100,000 | Planning for community energy resilience projects in Wallowa, Joseph and Independence, looking at a variety of renewable energy resources to couple with storage and microgrid systems to give each city an energy resilience system to keep critical services and buildings powered during grid outages.