91视频

Interest in renewable energy and green retrofits is rising in Oregon’s religious community. Some congregations have struggled to navigate complicated processes, but others are finding ways to achieve sustainable projects.

Oregon’s has helped some congregations, including First United Methodist in Eugene and Hood River Valley Christian Church, finance solar projects in the past couple of years.

Ten members of the First United Methodist congregation formed a Special Purpose LLC to purchase a 28.3-kilowatt system. In exchange for supplying the capital for the panels, the members of the LLC will reap associated tax credit benefits for at least five years. Then, final ownership will be transferred to the church.

鈥淭here are a lot of twists and turns navigating the tax code to keep solar power affordable,鈥� said Steven McGrath, president of Sustainable Solutions Unlimited, an energy efficiency and renewable energy contractor that has worked with several churches on solar projects. 鈥淏ut it’s working 鈥� First United has the first community-owned solar installation in Oregon.鈥�

Sustainable Solutions found a niche working with congregations through a request for proposals that was issued by Oregon Interfaith Power & Light, a nonprofit that aims to generate 鈥渁 religious response鈥� to climate change. The group, which is affiliated with Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, provides energy audits, educational resources, financial consulting and public policy advocacy on a number of issues.

More than 60 congregations have expressed interest in solar, according to Jenny Holmes, director of OIPL. The nonprofit helped many interested groups fill out applications for BETCs, but First United was one of the few to achieve precertification in the last round of the program, which recently passed its sunset date.

鈥淚t’s very disappointing,鈥� Holmes said. 鈥淐ommunity-based projects can take some time to get all of the permissions in order and to figure out plans, and then you only have a gambler’s chance to get allocation for all of that work.鈥�

OIPL is working with Sustainable Solutions to come up with strategies that will make renewable energy more financially feasible for nonprofits. But for now, Holmes and McGrath say fewer green projects are moving forward because the money just isn’t there anymore.

鈥淭here are hundreds, if not thousands, of groups that would like to do something similar to First United; if BETC was still available, we’d be running them forward,鈥� McGrath said.

Many congregations need years to align plans, and thus struggle to reap benefits from tax incentives that evolve constantly. Westminster Presbyterian Church in Eugene wanted a rooftop solar project and spent years gaining necessary approvals in order. In its case, the Presbytery trustees had to approve the idea before it went forward. By the time they filed for a BETC, the program was on its way out.

鈥淲orking with a congregation is like herding cats sometimes,鈥� Holmes said. 鈥淐ommunity groups need a long timeline and some certainty to access those incentives, but they’re really set up for a business where you can just ask one person and move forward. There is a lot of potential investment in Oregon that’s being left on the table because it’s so cumbersome for nonprofits to work through the tax systems as they are now.鈥�

Contractors also can be challenged to deal with a whole congregation, rather than a single owner.

鈥淭here’s a lot more involved in up-front planning and changes, which slows things down,鈥� said Carrington Barrs, principal at B&G Builders. It is the contractor for a $175,000 energy upgrade at the Interchurch Center, which houses OIPL.

鈥淚 like working with nonprofits,鈥� Barrs said. 鈥淚t’s more challenging up front, but more rewarding in the end because a lot of different people are really happy with how the work impacts the space.鈥�

Several parishes have established 鈥済reen teams鈥� to focus on sustainability issues. The green team at St. Andrews Lutheran Church in Beaverton is helping construct a new sanctuary slated to open in March 2012.

Triplett-Wellman is the general contractor for the project, but volunteers from the church assisted soft demolition of the old structure by pulling up the oak flooring one board at a time and taking old light fixtures to a Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Now volunteers are performing mitigation in surrounding wetlands.

First Congregational United Church of Christ in Salem financed its new solar panels through a pilot program offered through Portland General Electric, Pacific Power and Idaho Power. McGrath cautioned that program money is difficult to obtain 鈥� statewide, only 25 megawatts can be installed.

McGrath said the incentive structure should account for challenges that nonprofits are facing. Expanding the volumetric incentive rate, which is the model used at First Congregational in Salem, might be the most sustainable, long-term approach, he said.

鈥淣onprofits are not on a level playing field,鈥� McGrath said, 鈥渨hich is good for my business because I know how to navigate the system. But it’s not good overall. We need to unleash the people who want to do these (solar projects) the most. It has put a lot of people to work, but after the jobs we’re working on now are done, we may not have any more work for that crew.鈥�