The Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) is now accepting applications for a second round of Building Energy Reduction Incentive (BERI) program funding. The voluntary program encourages building owners to meet Oregon Building Performance Standard compliance requirements ahead of schedule.

In 2023, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 3409, which established a Building Performance Standard for commercial buildings. The bill requires covered commercial buildings to enhance energy management practices and implement efficiency measures to meet energy use targets. The earliest compliance date for certain buildings is 2028, an ODOE press release states.

ODOE was awarded $12 million in federal funding as part of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality‘s Climate Equity and Resilience Through Action program.

Oregon’s Building Performance Standard sorts eligible buildings into tier 1 or tier 2 buildings. The second round of BERI funding will offer about $7.7 million in incentives for tier 1 buildings, $3 million for tier 2 buildings, and $900,000 in incentives for tribal buildings. Maximum incentive amounts are capped at $100,000 for tier 1 buildings and $50,000 for tier 2 buildings, the press release states.

Incentives must be used for energy efficiency measures that reduce buildings’ energy use intensity and greenhouse gas emissions.

Applications will be reviewed by ODOE on a first-come, first-served basis until all funds are awarded or until the application period closes at 5 p.m. on Dec. 11. Applications are available at .

In May, ODOE also opened applications for a second Building Performance Standard incentive — the Early Compliance Action and Planning Program. Incentives are intended to help offset building owners’ costs associated with compliance, such as energy benchmarking and reporting or performing an energy audit. Applications are due July 10 and are available at .

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The Oregon Department of Energy is accepting applications for funding through its Renewable Energy Development (RED) grant program.

Qualifying projects must produce electricity from a renewable resource such as biomass, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric, wind, landfill gas, biogas, or wave, tidal, or ocean thermal energy. Grant awards are capped at $250,000 per project, a sum that may not exceed 35 percent of the project cost.

ODOE uses a two-tier system for the competitive grants, so similar-size projects will be judged against each other. Projects will be scored on the amount of energy generated, job creation, community benefits, and more. Systems that can supply electricity when the larger grid is down due to extreme weather or other emergencies will earn more points.

The agency will award a total of approximately $1.5 million to projects up to 300 kilowatts and approximately $1.25 million to projects greater than 300 kilowatts.

Applications must be submitted by April 22. ODOE expects to begin notifying potential grant recipients this summer. Money will be awarded upon completion of the project.

Potential applicants can submit written questions through March 25. A subsequent Q-and-A will be posted online on April 1. More information is available at: .

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(Editor’s note: This story has been changed to reflect the correct deadline to submit grant applications and the correct deadline to submit questions about the grants or the submission process.)

The Oregon Department of Energy is looking to support projects in the state that generate renewable energy.

The DOE has approximately $2 million available through its Renewable Energy Development Grant program. In order to qualify for the grant money, systems must produce electrical energy from renewable sources, including solar, geothermal, biomass or ocean thermal energy.

Projects that qualify can receive up to $250,000 per system, and the amount received cannot exceed 35 percent of the total project cost.

In order to keep competition for the grants fair, the DOE will use a two-tier system to ensure that projects of the same size are compared against each other. Approximately $500,000 of the grant money will go to projects of up to 300 kilowatts. The remainder will go toward projects greater than 300 kilowatts.

The deadline to submit grant applications is April 2. More program details, including specific submission information and a link to application materials can be found online at: .

Any questions about the grants or the submission process should be submitted in writing to the DOE by Feb. 26. Replies to all submitted questions will be posted on the DOE website by March 5.

This is the seventh time the DOE has offered grants through the program. Previous projects that received money ranged from solar array installations to biogas facility developments, according to the DOE.

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The draft rules governing the programs that replace Oregon’s drew ire of some stakeholders in the renewable energy sector, but now they are cautiously optimistic.

The Oregon Department of Energy posted the draft rules on Sept. 19, but after several groups lobbied for more time and more openness in the rulemaking process, the agency extended the deadline for public comment from Oct. 21 to Nov. 4.

The ODOE met with industry members on Monday to discuss the draft rules for the renewable energy grant program known as “Gennie.” The small group of developers, lobbyists and trade association heads argued that the draft rules impose too many stipulations for new projects. And ODOE representatives on Monday indicated they would take steps to tweak the draft rules.

“The initial rules they issued were awful,” said Alan Hickenbottom, president and founder of and one of approximately 10 attendees at Monday’s meeting. “But I thought we had an open dialogue and I’m cautiously optimistic that we will see decent improvements to the program.”

The executive director of the , Glenn Montgomery, said the initial draft rules put the cart before the horse. Monday’s meeting was an attempt to turn it around.

Gennie, which is capped at $3 million for the 2011-2013 biennium and limits awards to $250,000 per project, targets smaller (capped at 35 megawatts) commercial projects. But the initial draft rules established criteria for grant applications that Hickenbottom and others said would have discouraged smaller businesses from applying altogether.

“We (various stakeholders) are all consistently in agreement that they’ve gone above and beyond what we believe are appropriate eligibility and prioritization criteria,” Montgomery said of the initial draft rules.

The ODOE laid out a system to assess grant applications based on factors including strength of the applicant’s business plan, experience of the project team and community support.

In comments he submitted to the ODOE on Oct. 21, Montgomery called these and other grant criteria “ill-suited for the evaluation of grant applications and overly burdensome for the applicant to complete.”

Hickenbottom, who cited his own experience, also said the business plan criterion is “ridiculous.”

“Virtually no one has an up-to-date business plan that’s ready to print,” he said. “But they (ODOE rule-makers), not being business people, didn’t understand that asking for a business plan wouldn’t give them what they wanted anyway.”

And the ODOE now seems to be taking its rule-making cues from the industry.

“The lesson is that it really should have been a more open process,” said Robert Grott, executive director of the . “We’re hoping the next draft takes into account the changes we recommended that would make the program more effective.”

After Friday’s extended deadline passes, the ODOE will review all comments, and then produce another set of draft rules – probably in the next couple of weeks.

“What we have to do now is basically create three new programs from the 32-year-old BETC program,” said Diana Enright, a spokeswoman for the agency. “After a program sunsets after that long, of course, we had a lot of public interest.”

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After the was sent to extinction last month by Gov. John Kitzhaber and the state legislature, a number of businesses who had applied for the tax credit had their applications returned. At least they got their application fee back.

The Energy Trust of Oregon has announced that it will offer bonus cash incentives for lighting upgrades and energy-efficiency programs to businesses in light of a host of to energy tax credits signed into law last month that will go into effect . Among the changes spelled out in the is a measure to auction off energy tax credits to pay for projects selected by the Oregon Department of Energy, which will specify the conditions of the award.

To be eligible for the Energy Trust , projects must be enrolled with Energy Trust between Sept. 1 or later and be completed be completed by Dec. 15. Upgrades to commercial and industrial lighting systems may be eligible for cash bonuses of up to 50 percent. Custom capital energy efficiency improvements that save electricity and natural gas, such as boiler retrofits and more efficient air conditioning systems, may qualify for a bonus of 20 percent.

Photo by via Flickr

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State agencies are subject to new rules for certifying their facilities. The changes to Oregon’s State Energy Efficiency Design (SEED) program were developed following input from stakeholders and a public meeting on March 22. The rules went into effect Monday.

The main change was the amended definition of a “highly efficient facility,” according to Jim Denno, public buildings manager at the Department of Energy. In the past, the SEED requirement was for a state building to be built 20 percent above code requirements, but the rule now stipulates that all of the cost-effective energy efficiency measures must be put into the design, regardless of the final percentage above code.

A definition was also added for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification because the program is referred to several times within the rules.

SEED also outlines the process that agencies need to follow if they seek certification from alternate certification systems, including LEED or the Oregon Reach Code.

“The idea was to give agencies a streamlined process if seeking LEED certification or build to the Oregon Reach Code in order to avoid duplication of effort and cost,” Denno said.

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Surprise Valley Electrification Corp. and Triumfus Onion Products walked away with the two largest monetary awards handed out recently by the Oregon Department of Energy through the agency’s program.

The program is designed to help companies and groups determine whether proposed renewable energy, heat and fuel projects in the state pencil out. Once completed, feasibility studies help companies and groups move forward with a “road map” of sorts for projects, said Rebecca Sherman, CREFF coordinator for the energy department.

Triumfus, located in Ontario, will study the feasibility of a biogas project with its $44,000 award, while Lakeview-based SVEC will use its $43,000 award for a geothermal power project study.

Other award recipients include: Sustainable Engineering of Paisley, $5,200 for a small-scale wind study; Central Oregon Irrigation District of Redmond, $36,000 for a canal hydropower study; Good Co. of Eugene, $22,570 for a community solar project; Portland Public Schools, $5,000 for a solar thermal greenhouse project study; and Klamath Water and Power Authority, $40,000 for a geothermal power project.

The state started the CREFF program in 2007 with $1 million from a legal settlement. The program has supported 23 studies since 2009. All recipients are expected to pay back their awards so that the program can continue.

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A hearing by the state House Energy, Environment and Water Committee about the possibility of disbanding the Oregon Department of Energy was a starting point for discussion, but the details of how to address problems with the agency still need to be hashed out, legislators and business groups said.

The Tuesday meeting about , sponsored by Rep. Jules Bailey, D-Portland, ended without any detailed plan of what would come next in the process, although that doesn’t mean the issue is dead, said John Audley, executive director of the Renewable Northwest Project, who testified before the committee.

“The takeaways I had were that everyone who spoke did so in favor of the intentions behind the bill, and there was acknowledgment that the issues needed to have more discussion,” Audley said.

Legislators on the committee need to talk more before deciding on the next step, and when and if more discussion will happen this session, added Rep. Ben Cannon, D-Portland, co-chairman of the committee.

“I’m interested in continuing the conversation, but I can’t make any commitment to when it will come back in a public session,” Cannon said. “My interest is to continue this conversation in this session though.”

Audley added that he’d like to see another hearing on the agenda, because companies associated with his group have complained that the agency’s work with has been erratic at best, and many feel that some sort of action is needed to provide oversight and improve consistency.

“All options are on the table,” Audley said. “We think the agency’s ability to administer policies to incentivize energy has fallen down. I think it’s fair to say the agency has lost the confidence of businesses looking to build alternative energy projects in Oregon.”

The agency had declined to comment about the bill for a Jan. 26 story by the Daily Journal of Commerce, and calls to ODOE officials weren’t returned.

At the first meeting Bailey presented several details about how various ODOE tasks might be handled. He’d like to see talks move to the Joint Committee on Ways and Means, he added.

“A lot of this involves budget discussions, so I think that will be a good place to do that,” Bailey said. “Part of the next steps as well is to get an indication from the governor’s office on when to move forward with that and to gauge his level of interest, and we’ve had some discussion with him on that already.”

Elon Hasson, a project manager at Horizon Energy, said as a business person he thinks some of the issues on the table – including the possibility of moving parts of the ODOE to other government agencies – have merit.

“We’re monitoring it, and it’s good to get the conversation going,” Hasson said. “There are some good things at ODOE that aren’t working quite right, but I’m not sure we should necessarily throw the baby out with the bathwater. I think there needs to be a forum for more discussion.”

In some cases over the past 18 months, companies that had been given energy credits later had them taken away, which can be detrimental to efforts to financial planning, Audley added.

“They rewrote the rules so often we weren’t sure what was coming next,” Audley said. “If you budget for $10 million in BETC, and then you only get $3 million, that really affects your bottom line.”

From what he’s seen, Hasson said those problems have made it difficult for alternative energy companies to continue to conduct business in the state.

“Predictability is pretty important for business – that’s not just a tagline,” Hasson said. “The way it’s been administered has cast doubts. Things have changed so much with BETC that people are wary of it. That hasn’t helped the business culture.”

The BETC problem is something legislators are interested in working out, although Cannon said he’s not sure those problems are entirely the ODOE’s fault.

“That program grew rapidly and was not part of the department’s usual workload,” Cannon said. “But that’s among the things we’d like to discuss.”

And even if the House puts the issue on hold for the session, discussion will likely continue in the Senate, said Sen. Jackie Dingfelder, D-Portland, chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee.

Dingfelder proposed her own legislation, , which would create a state energy commission and transfer duties of the ODOE director and officers to that board as a way to provide more oversight.

Discussion on that bill is not scheduled, but is in the works, she said.

“The main concern I have is to make sure we have the proper oversight for the Department of Energy,” Dingfelder said. “All the rulings now are done by the director, and there’s not really much public scrutiny of those rules.”

She also would like to see a broader plan and vision for the agency, rather than the two-year plan it works from now, Dingfelder said.

“I think it’s an important discussion that we need to look into more deeply,” she said.

Cannon agreed with that sentiment.

“What’s most important to me about this is that we find a way to elevate energy planning for the state,” Cannon said.

Bailey added that he likes Dingfelder’s ideas, and the two plan to work together as discussions continue.

“I’d call our efforts partnered,” Bailey said. “She brings a lot of expertise and experience to the table. The ideas for our bills came from different places, but they’re not incompatible. This is not so much about abolishing as making sure we get the planning right.”

And no matter which body handles it, more talk on the issue is something local businesses would certainly appreciate, Hasson added.

“The hearing was a good start to the conversation – Oregon is not really working well,” Hasson said. “There needs to be more discussion of how we can make this work better.”

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A proposal to dissolve the Oregon Department of Energy and distribute its various programs to other state agencies is slated to go before the Legislature next month.

As legislators prepare to tackle the state’s $3.5 billion budget deficit this session, is being pitched by Rep. Jules Bailey, D-Portland, as an efficient alternative for managing the state’s energy agenda.

Under the proposal, the energy department’s business-oriented incentives would be moved to Business Oregon, the DOE’s regulatory and energy efficiency/renewable energy investment programs would go to the Public Utility Commission and the Energy Trust of Oregon, and the DOE’s siting functions would be coordinated with the Department of Land Conservation and Development. Remaining programs and planning would go to a new Governor’s Office of Energy.

“The Department of Energy has great functions that are really important,” said Deborah Burke, Bailey’s legislative assistant. “But they are also core competencies of other agencies. There seems to be overlap, and the goal of this entire session is to improve the efficiency of state agencies.”

The idea came while Bailey was working with the Oregon Department of Energy during the 2009 legislative session and the 2010 special session. During those sessions, Business Oregon testified that it could better manage the DOE’s various loan programs. Business Oregon already manages multiple financing programs used to attract new businesses and jobs to the state.

Bailey also was impressed by Colorado, which has made significant progress after establishing its own Governor’s Office of Energy Management and Conservation in 2007. In 2009 alone, the state quadrupled the amount of wind power on its grid, became third in the U.S. for solar photovoltaic capacity and established the Colorado Carbon Fund, which lets businesses pay to offset their greenhouse gas emissions; money collected is then used for clean energy projects.

The energy department is funded by the Energy Supplier Assessment, which draws from utilities’ gross operating revenues and energy sales. Under the bill, the ESA could be redirected to pay for energy programs in recipient agencies and to fund the governor’s energy office. Bailey’s proposal includes fewer overhead costs, so the amount paid into the ESA could be reduced, Burke said.

“Coming into this session, there is a focus on government efficiency and a change in political will with the split in the House,” Burke said. “The bill is an idea for how we can streamline state government. This is an agency that needs that the most.”

The manner in which the state energy department handles its various financial incentive programs has come under fire in recent years. After it was discovered that millions of Business Energy Tax Credit dollars were going to large, out-of-country wind companies, former Gov. Ted Kulongoski ordered a sweeping overhaul of the program, significantly reducing funding.

Bailey hopes such action wouldn’t be repeated if an energy office were within the governor’s office. But some people may not be open to the change.

“There is naturally worry that restructuring will cause another hiccup,” Burke said. “With any great change, there’s always resistance. But we’ve gotten positive feedback from (Gov. John) Kitzhaber’s team. Now could be the best time to push for changes to state government.”

One area the bill could help, according to John Audley, deputy director of the Renewable Northwest Project, is promotion of rural Oregon’s potential to benefit economically from renewable energy. Of $6 billion in energy investment in Oregon over the past five years, $5 billion went to rural Oregon, Audley said. But Business Oregon has yet to focus its attention on small communities’ potential.

“Renewable energy seems to be the best economic strategy for rural areas the state has to offer, but it’s not part of Business Oregon’s orientation,” Audley said. “Tim McCabe (with Business Oregon) has been hugely successful attracting manufacturing to the I-5 corridor. Reorientation of the DOE could stimulate that business in rural Oregon as well.”

The Oregon Department of Energy has not thoroughly analyzed the bill yet, according to spokeswoman Diana Enright, and declined to comment on how the agency may be impacted. Similarly, Amber Cole, director of communications for the Energy Trust of Oregon, said it was too early to know how the bill would affect the organization’s operation.

The bill was referred to the Energy Environment and Water committee as well as the Ways and Means committee. No proposal-related meetings have been scheduled yet.

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The release of an Oregon Department of Energy report investigating the program and job creation has been delayed until spring, said Diana Enright, a spokeswoman for the agency.

A coalition of 17 business groups called the Coalition to Support Clean Energy had hoped to use the report to influence the Legislature to keep the credit program, which mostly sunsets in 2012.

The report was originally set to be finished in February for the 2011 Legislative session.

Enright didn’t immediately have more specific information about the length of the delay.

“It’s still ongoing, but it will take a little extra time to complete,” Enright said. “The Legislature is aware of that.”

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