(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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Richard DeWolf’s Portland-based company, Versatile Wood Products, specializes in the restoration and remodel of historical doors, windows and cabinetry. In the course of a single year, that work produces a significant amount of wood waste and sawdust, to the tune of about 100 total tons per year.

DeWolf wanted to find a sustainable way to get rid of those excess materials. So he teamed up with another Portland firm, Wisewood Energy, to design and install a biomass boiler system that takes what would have been dumped in a landfill and turns it into fuel to heat Versatile Wood Products’ 40,000-square-foot facility in North Portland.

Wisewood Energy, which specializes in biomass energy systems, has been in business since 2011 and has handled projects in Alaska and Oregon. The biomass boiler system it created for DeWolf’s company uses a firebox to burn the wood scraps and sawdust to heat water, which is then piped to multiple Modine air-handling units. A forced-air system distributes the warm air throughout the facility to heat the entire building.

The cost for DeWolf to install the $250,000 system was offset by an Oregon Department of Energy commercial thermal tax credit and a support grant from Energy Trust of Oregon.

The system is expected to conserve 11,600 therms of natural gas and 8,600 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually. Cost savings for DeWolf’s company could be as much as $20,000 per year, compared to the previous heating system used in the building.

The system also is expected to reduce the facility’s annual carbon emissions by 71 tons per year and eliminate an estimated 24 truckloads of wood debris that Versatile Wood Products previously had to send to landfills each year.

“The technology originated in Austria,” Wisewood Energy President Andrew Haden said. “Burning waste wood in an efficient way is just an intuitive solution to heating. We took that technology and designed a system for this client that turns their waste into a usable product. This is a state-of-the-art system … a showcase project.”

Haden added that he is encouraged by what he sees from both the city of Portland and the state as increasing support of – and interest in – biomass as an alternative, energy-efficient heating method that contributes to carbon sequestration.

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The Oregon Department of Energy has opened its window for applications for $1.5 million in grant money for renewable energy production projects in the state.

The state hopes the grants, which are being offered through a Renewable Energy Grant program, will encourage a range of development. For example, projects can receive points for location in low-density areas that suffer from high unemployment rates. They also can gain points for technological resource diversity.

“We really want to see diversity in the types of systems (that would be used): biomass, solar, wind, biogas, wave or other ocean technology,” said Rachel Wray, communications manager for the ODOE.

With $1.5 million available, the ODOE believes opportunities exist for a wide range of project sizes.

“Historically, we have given to large and small projects,” Wray said. “It’s been a really good mix.”

To be considered for a grant, applications must be received by the ODOE by Jan. 23, 2015. All applications will undergo an initial review to make sure packets are complete. Applications may undergo a secondary review, depending on the number of projects submitted, Wray said. The final review stage will focus on technical aspects.

All applicants should have an idea of where they stand in the review process by March or April 2015, Ray said. The state hopes to announce the projects selected to receive grants in August.

For more information about the RED Grant program and details about submitting projects, visit .

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The Oregon Department of Energy has received more applications for its first round of than it has money to finance projects, according to Kathy Shinn, spokeswoman for the energy department.

Earlier this year, the energy department created a tiered priority system to allocate the first round of money, $10 million of the $60 million in tax credits available. The $10 million will be doled out in January 2011 to projects costing less than $500,000 for which applications were turned in first. But according to Shinn, the department received 170 applications and was only able to move 64 applications on to technical review, as of Oct. 11.

“There are sufficient tax credits set aside to cover the 64 applications currently under technical review,” Shinn said. “Staff do not foresee that a significant amount (of tax credits) would be left over. If there is, staff will make a determination on whether to make that amount available in the next round.”

BETC provides financial assistance through the Oregon Department of Energy to those investing in energy conservation, recycling, renewable energy resources and less polluting fuels. The Oregon Legislature in early 2010 capped the amount of tax credits available to renewable energy projects at $300 million for the foreseeable future after the state found it was spending too much money on the tax credits. The department had planned to take applications for the first $60 million of those credits before 2010.

Applications for the next round of financing began Oct. 1. The $10 million in tax credits available for that round is the second installment of $20 million given to projects after a competitive review, instead of on a first-come basis. Eligible projects must cost more than $6 million.  An announcement will be posted in December about the final round of BETC, for which $30 million in tax credits is available and begins in January, Shinn said.

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The Portland Building is set to have all of its heating and cooling units replaced to improve the building’s energy efficiency.

Funded by a $175,000 grant from the Oregon Department of Energy, the project will replace 454 of the building’s original heating and cooling units with direct digital controls.

“Most new medium to high rise buildings will have digital energy management controls,” said Ed Newvine, a mechanical engineer with the city of Portland. “The digital controls will allow us to monitor temperature, air flow and other conditions on a floor by floor basis.”

The project is expected to save the building $47,213 per year in utility bills, according to an energy analysis report prepared by Abacus Resource Management Company.

Construction bid for the project will be issued this month, and construction on the project would begin in September. The project is expected to take one year to complete.

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Portland General Electric plans to build over 200 miles of single and double-circuit transmission lines from its plant in Boardman to Salem.

But before that happens, the Oregon Department of Energy is seeking public comment on the project, called the  , which would cross through wildlife areas, tribal lands and privately held lands.

Portland General Electric has already applied to the federal government for right-of-way permits to cross federally managed lands and has submitted a Notice of Intent to apply for an Energy Facility Site Certificate from the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council.

The project is needed, PGE says, to allow transmission to future wind projects planned in Eastern Oregon and to meet increasing customer demand for electricity. The project, if approved and permitted by the state, federal government and tribal governments, would break ground in 2013 and be operational by mid-2015.

“It takes years to study and permit projects like this,” said PGE spokesman Steve Corson. “We will be working with affected property owners throughout the length of the project.”

Those interested in commenting on the project should visit . The deadline for comments is July 27.

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A new solar company could be coming to the metro area.

Solexant has requested a $25 million loan from the Oregon Department of Energy‘s state to finance a thin-film solar plant in the Gresham or Wilsonville area. The plant would eventually have the capacity the produce 400 megawatts of thin-film solar cells each year.

Thin-film solar technology is being pursued by many start ups because of its high performance, increased efficiency and reduced manufacturing cost. The thin-film solar cells are made by laying thin layers of photovoltaic material over a thin slice of semiconductor material.

Though Solexant spokeswoman Wei-En Tan said it’s too soon for the company to go into details about the proposed plant, the company will be meeting with the Department of Energy in Salem on Tuesday, May 25 to review the loan request.

According to Diana Enright, spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Energy, the $25 million loan would be given in three disbursements. An initial $6 million loan would be given to Solexant for a building renovation and installation of manufacturing equipment to bring the plant up to a capacity of 100 megawatts. The rest of the loan would be awarded later.

Department of Energy director Bob Repine will have the final say on whether to give Solexant the loan.

Venture capital-backed Solexant has been around since 2006 when it was founded by Damoder Reddy with scientists Paul Alivisatos, Paras Prasad and Sue Carter.

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After a year as director of the Oregon Department of Energy, Mark Long is leaving for a position with the Department of Consumer and Business Services.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski on Friday named Bob Repine as Long’s replacement. Repine, a former construction contractor, starts May 24.

Currently division administrator with the Energy Department, Repine was a special adviser to Kulongoski on construction of the new Oregon State Hospital. He led the Department of Economic and Community Development from 2006 to 2008 and the Department of Housing and Community Services from 1998 to 2006.

Before that, Repine represented Grants Pass in the state House of Representatives.

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Oregon received more than $6.5 million in federal funds last week to improve energy efficiency and water conservation at 66 city and county buildings.

The money was awarded by the Oregon Department of Energy as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Formula Block Grant.

Twenty-one counties received funding, with awards ranging from $631 for a weatherization project at Linn County Health Services Annex to $491,000 for to be installed at the Benton County Fair Grounds. Broadleaf Architecture is the architect for the fairground solar array project, which is part of a larger redesign of the Benton County Fair Grounds.

Projects selected for funding will have three years to complete their work.

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UPDATE: BETC pass-through change

As the Oregon Legislature prepares to overhaul the state’s Business Energy Tax Credit, the Oregon Department of Energy is working to make sure the BETC isn’t thrown out with the bathwater.

“BETC gives us a competitive edge over other states (for business recruitment),” said Bob Repine, assistant director of ODOE‘s energy incentives division. “The problem with BETC for too long has been that there are no limits. How do we put reasonable constraints on it and still allow it to function?”

Now, Repine and others are working feverishly to revamp certain aspects of the program, particularly the pass-through option, which allows a project owner to transfer its BETC to a partner for a lump-sum cash payment. Pass-through was created in 2001 to allow non-tax entities, such as schools, counties and cities, to take advantage of the state incentive. At the time, only 9 percent of applicants pursued the pass-through option. But today, nearly 70 percent of applicants want to use pass-through, Repine said.

“The pass-through option has grown so much, it is consuming all of our time,” Repine said. “These (proposed rule changes) will slow BETC’s growth.”

The BETC is one of the few tools Oregon has to recruit new businesses to the state, according to Repine. But the program has come under fire in the last few months due to reports that its annual drain from the state’s general fund has ballooned from $10 million in 1979 to $168 million in 2009.

The Legislature asked ODOE to come up with a new formula for the pass-through that would require the pass-through partner to pay a larger cash sum to make up for the loss in tax revenues. ODOE was supposed to have a formula ready by Jan. 1, but Repine said Wednesday that none had been chosen.

“I don’t think there is a magic formula that exists to fix this,” Repine said. “We’re hoping to come up with a solution today, but I can’t say what that will be at this time. I can say that the amount of payback will be greater.”

The idea of increasing the percentage that pass-through partners should pay back to projects has been controversial, Repine said, because it could discourage businesses from investing in Oregon’s marketplace. Also, there is no guarantee from the Legislature that projects that have been pre-certified for BETC will be able to lock down a payback rate.

“Currently, we have agreed that if you have pre-certification for a BETC project today, you are eligible for today’s pass-through rate,” Repine said. “But the Legislature could look at retroacting the pass-through rule.”

The Legislature in February will debate changes to BETC, based on recommendations by ODOE. Nevertheless, Repine believes a comprehensive rewrite of BETC in 2011 is needed to keep the program viable. A report is due in October on how the BETC impacts the state financially, and is expected to shed more light on which areas need to be reined in, and which ones need to be expanded. With the 30-year-old program scheduled to sunset in 2012, Repine and ODOE will have a short window to revamp BETC.

“The last thing we want is for BETC to tank,” Repine said. “When I worked in economic development for the state, I had no other tools besides BETC for business recruitment. Today, we need to show that we have been responsive to the Legislature’s concerns. 2011 will be the year we can put a comprehensive package together to improve the program.”

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