Portland Residential PV Systems |
Laws, Requirements, Tax credits | |
Process |
Hire a contractor and/or consultant. | |
www.energy.state.or.us/renew/solar/PVvend.pdf | |
Get city permits | |
Enter into net metering agreement with utility | |
Pass inspection by city/utility | |
Start producing! | |
City Permits |
Electrical Permit | |||
Trade permits counter | |||
NEC Article 690 | |||
National Fire Protection Agency | |||
Groundfault Protection Device-fire protection device. Detects faulty currents and disables the array. | |||
Additional Cost – $275-425 | |||
IEEE 929 2000 | |||
Recommeded Practice for Utility Interface Photovoltaic Systems. | |||
Provides a standard for inverter design. | |||
UL 1741 | |||
Safety standards for Inverters, converters, and controllers. | |||
Systems that meet these standards will meet IEEE standard. | |||
City Permits |
Residential Structural Permit | ||
Roof able to maintain structural integrity given the extra load of PV array. | ||
System able to maintain stability given the wind currents in Portand. | ||
Net Metering Agreement |
Created in response to HB 3219 | |
An agreement between the customer-generator and the utility that details terms of interconnection. | |
OregonLaw |
70th Oregon Legislative Assembly(1999) | |
House Bill 3219 www.leg.state.or.us/99reg/measures/hb3200.dir/hb3219.en.html | |
HB 3219 |
Systems of 25 kW or less | |
Located on customer’s property | |
Can operate in parallel with utility | |
Intended to offset part or all of customer’s electricity requirements | |
May charge minimum monthly charge | |
Customer Protection Provisions | |
Cannot require additional safety or performance standards. | |
Cannot require customer to perform or pay for additional tests. | |
Cannot require the purchase additional liability insurance. | |
PGE Net Metering Agreement |
Must own the generator | |
Must be a solar, wind, fuel cell, hydroelectric facility | |
25 kW or less | |
Must operate in parallel with PGE’s existing transmission and distribution facilities | |
Must be primarily intended to offset part or all your electrical requirements | |
Agreement must span 1 year or more |
PGE Net Metering |
Net metering measures the difference between the electricity supplied by the company and electricity generated by a customer-generator and fed back to the company over the Monthly Billing period. |
Financials |
Customer will pay normal monthly Customer, Demand, Facilities, and Reactive Demand charges paid in the standard service tariff. | |
If use exceeds production, customer pays for net usage. | |
If production exceeds usage, the account is credited according to Schedule 201, Small Power Production. |
Schedule 201 Credit Rates |
Customer Responsibilities
with PGE agreement |
Safety – NEC, IEEE, UL | |
Deliver at utility voltage, phase,frequency, power factor | |
All necessary govt. approvals | |
Modifications required by PGE for purposes of safety and reliability | |
Isolation equipment accessible at all times | |
More Allowances |
PGE may inspect facilities at any time for any reason. | |
PGE may disconnect for safety and/or reliability reasons at their discretion. | |
Current “Portland” Tax Incentives |
State of Oregon $1,500 Tax credit | ||
UL listed equipment | ||
$3 per Watt up to $1,500 | ||
Loan | ||
7.5% interest | ||
Up to 15 years | ||
$500 loan fee | ||
Secured by collateral (second mortgage) | ||
Individuals, businesses, schools, special districts, tribes and local, state or federal government agencies may apply. | ||
$2,000 rebate for remote residences. | ||
Federal Tax Incentives
for Residential Systems |
Proposed Federal Tax Incentive |
Congressman J.D. Hayworth, AZ | ||
June, 2001 | ||
Residential Solar Energy Tax Credit Act | ||
15% Tax Credit for installation of PV System | ||
15% Tax Credit for installation of water heater | ||
Up to $2000 for each system | ||
Portland Residential PV
Systems State of Affairs |
System is not standardized. | ||
Most people TRY to help. | ||
Headaches may be unavoidable | ||
“They DON’T deal with it.” | ||
Contacts |
Contractors/Consultants www.energy.state.or.us/renew/solar/PVvend.pdf | ||
City of Portland | ||
Bureau of Buildings, Permit Center | ||
1900 SW 4th, Ste 5000, PO Box 8120 | ||
Portland, OR 97201 | ||
(503) 823-7310 | ||
Planning - www.opdr.ci.portland.or.us | ||
Bob Turpin – Electrical Engineer | ||
(503) 823-7390 | ||
Contacts |
State of Oregon | ||
www.energy.state.or.us | ||
Solar Power – | ||
Christopher Dymond (503) 378-8235 or 1-800-221-8035 | ||
Oregon Office of Energy 625 Marion St. N.E. Salem, Oregon 97301 (503) 378-4040 Toll Free: 1-800-221-8035 |
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Fax:(503)-373-7806 | ||
PGE - Bonnie Rushing - Power Contracts | ||