Oregon is a U.S. state that receives a decent amount of sun hours every day, which means that you can use a solar PV system to lower your energy bills and make your home greener.
In terms of sunlight received over a period of one year in Oregon we have:
- Average sunlight hours received annually: 2300 hours.
- Sunny days (clear days): 68 days.
- Peak sun hours during the summer: 5.71 hours per day.
- Peak sun hours during the winter: 1.9 hours per day.
- Peak sun hours on average: 4.03 hours per day.
With an average of about 4 hours of sunlight per day, the state of Oregon is good for installing solar panels on your property to lower the energy bills of your house or company.
If you plan to go solar as a homeowner (solar for my home) you need to know that in 2020, you can still access incentives to lower your personal investment made in a new solar PV (photovoltaic) system.
Oregon Solar Incentives in 2020
As time passes, the cost of solar inevitably goes down, but even so, the incentives available this year for homeowners and companies, will help you make the switch to solar much easier than you’ve thought.
Homeowners in Residential OR
The current Oregon solar incentives (two new incentives are available), allow homeowners living in Portland, Oregon area, to reduce the upfront costs when installing a new solar PV system.
Being a customer of Portland General Electric (PGE) or Pacific Power, you will get the incentive from the Energy Trust of Oregon.
The rebate will go to the solar installer, and will drop your costs with the new solar PV system installed on your property.
The amount received will vary depending on your home or business.
Current incentive levels
For Residential – PGE customers: $400 per Kilowatt installed, and up to $3,200.
For Residential – Pacificpower customers: $400 per Kilowatt installed, and up to $3,200.
How to calculate your incentive
The Energy Trust of Oregon (ETO) incentive, is based on the size of the system installed (the larger the PV system installed, the larger the incentive received).
For a 5KW PV system, the ETO incentive will give you $2,000.
I must repeat that this incentive will be received by the installer and not by the homeowner.
How to qualify for this incentive as a homeowner
To qualify for this incentive, you have to work with a solar installer that is a certified Solar Trade Ally by ETO (Energy Trust of Oregon), all the solar equipment installed needs to be new and UL listed, and finally, your solar project must be verified by Energy Trust tax inspectors.
The second incentive was created for low-to-middle income families and is called the new Solar Within Reach.
For low-to-middle income households that qualify for this incentive, installing a new solar PV system that can lower their energy bills has become very affordable.
The Solar Within Reach incentive is a new and generous cash incentive (up to $9,000), that along with a federal energy tax credit can help you to power your household using the Sun’s energy.
To qualify for this incentive you have to meet the Energy Trust of Oregon’s qualifications regarding your building and income.
You must live in a single-family home, a manufactured home, a floating home, a multi-family residence (has to be a duplex, triplex, attached side-by-side unit, etc.) or a condo.
2020 Oregon Commercial Solar Incentives
If you want to power your company/business using solar energy you have to use the generous incentive provided by the Energy Trust of Oregon (ETO).
To qualify for this incentive, you must be a customer of PGE (Portland General Electric) or Pacific Power, and the money will go directly to your business (up to $40,000).
The PGE incentive rate is between $200 and $500 per kilowatt installed (up to $40,000), while the Pacific Power incentive rate is between $250 and $350 per kilowatt installed (up to $25,000).
How to qualify for this incentive as a company
Exactly like in the case of the homeowner, your solar installer must be a certified Solar Trade Ally by ETO (the Energy Trust of Oregon), all equipment installed must be new and UL listed, and your project will be verified by Energy Trust tax technicians.
Federal Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC)
The ITC was created to directly reduce or “credit” your federal taxes and is a credit to your tax return worth 26% of the total cost of your solar PV system.
This can be used within 5 years from the date of installation.
