Updates

Please review ODOE’s summary to ensure that your customers’ projects meet the timelines and provide the necessary documentation to be grandfathered. The first set of temporary RETC rules was announced by ODOE on July 14, 2010. The new rules limit the value of the solar RETC to no more than 50 percent of net system cost after deducting the Energy Trust incentive and federal tax credit. The new rules apply to all projects that do not meet the requirements to be grandfathered under the old rules. Please be sure to communicate the new rules to your prospective residential customers and update your website and marketing materials with RETC values based on the new rules.

OSEIA was instrumental in achieving the pathway for projects to be grandfathered under the old rules, and Energy Trust supported those efforts in our communications with ODOE.

Custom incentive amounts will be determined by an above market cost analysis, will be subject to approval by Energy Trust’s board of directors, and will be established in a contract between Energy Trust and the project owner. This offer is subject to availability of funds.

We will accept custom incentive applications for PV projects larger than 100 kW that can net-meter or sell power to PGE. If you have such a project that has a Business Energy Tax Credit (BETC) precertification, has applied for a Tier 2 or Tier 3 BETC, or can demonstrate that it’s viable without a BETC, please contact Kacia Brockman at 503.445.7623 to discuss the project. Kacia will then provide you with the information you will need to apply for a custom solar incentive for your project.

You must be careful not to overpromise. As a trade ally, you are responsible to determine for your customer if their solar resource meets Energy Trust’s minimum standard. Your customer’s state tax credit and/or feed-in-tariff payments also depend on having adequate TSRF. Protect yourself and your customer by measuring TSRF carefully, setting realistic expectations for customers with marginal resource, and perhaps walking away from sites that are not good for solar.

The most significant change to the RETC is the new definition of the eligible cost. The eligible cost has been redefined as the net cost after the values of the Energy Trust incentive and Federal Tax Credit are deducted. The value of the RETC may be no more than 50% of the eligible (net) cost. This reduction in eligible cost will have the greatest impact on the value of the RETC for small systems at lower costs.

We encourage you to notify existing and potential customers that will be affected by this change. Along with updating your customer bids, please ensure that you update your website and any promotional materials to reflect this change.

Some of the benefits of PowerClerk:

• Applications are submitted online, eliminating the need for faxing, emailing or snail mailing paperwork
• The program is updated throughout the day by Energy Trust staff and inspectors, so you can tell the moment a project has been approved
• A complete view of all of your active projects gives you a quick and easy way to track your project queue
• Project paperwork (including Form 220s, schematics and shade reports) is stored and accessible online, granting you instant access to pertinent project details
• Paperless project reviews and approvals mean that projects can potentially be approved from the field

All of these benefits together mean greater transparency to the approval process and instant awareness of project status and updates. In the long term, we feel this is a key step in providing a quicker turnaround time from project submission through pre-approval and inspection.

To learn more, or to request a login account for your company, please email powerclerk@energytrust.org.

If we do not hear from you, you can expect to receive a reservation cancellation notice from Energy Trust for any projects that have reserved capacity (small-medium) or submitted bids (large) for Portland General Electric or Pacific Power feed-in tariff incentives. We will not reserve Energy Trust funds during the large-scale bid process, but if your bid is not selected for the feed-in tariff, you are welcome to come back and apply for an Energy Trust incentive at that time.