Sunergy Systems - Commercial Solar - Incentives for Oregon

Current Solar Incentives: Oregon

Commercial Solar Incentives - Solar power is one of the smartest investments that businesses can make.

Solar power allows your business to:

Control your energy costs
Reduce your electricity bills
Hedge against future utility rate hikes
Protect the environment
Increase your property value without increasing your property taxes

Now is a great time for your business to invest in solar power! There are numerous financial incentives that make installing a solar power system very attractive for businesses in Oregon. Oregon has one of the best incentive programs in the United States.

Green Tags is another financial incentive available and is applicable for the first two years after installing your solar power system.

Sunergy Systems will explain how each of these incentives work and how they will save your business a substantial amount of money. We handle all of the application paperwork for you.

Net Metering - All Solar electricity generated that is not used at time of generation will be fed back to the utility grid, so that your green power can be used by other people. During these times your utility meter will actually run backwards so that you are credited for this power. Your utility bill at the end of the month will be the difference of what you generated and consumed. For those summer months that you generate more than you consume, these "credits" will be forwarded to you the next month.

Federal Business Energy Tax Credit - The Federal BETC consists of a 30% tax credit which is taken in the first year after installation. This credit is a one time deduction.

Accelerated Depreciation - MACRS - Under the Modified Accelerated Cost-Recovery System (MACRS), businesses can use depreciation deductions to recover investments in solar, wind and geothermal property. The MACRS establishes a set of class lives for various types of property, ranging from three to 50 years, over which the property can be depreciated. For solar power systems the property class is five years. The basis calculation is reduced by half the amount of the federal tax credit or 15%. In other words, 85% of the purchase price would be the depreciation calculation basis

Oregon Business Energy Tax Credit (BETC) - The Oregon Business Energy Tax Credit (BETC), also known as the “Betsy” provides a tax credit for Oregon businesses of up to 50%. This percentage may change depending on your location. The BETC allows a pass-through option, which enables the system purchaser to “pass” the tax credit to a partner with a tax credit appetite. There is an application fee of 00.75% of the total system cost for the BETC.

Energy Trust of Oregon Incentives

• For Portland General Electric customers: The Energy Trust of Oregon offers a rebate of $1.50 per watt of rated DC capacity for the first 30kW and between $1.50 and $1.25 per watt for the next 70kW in the Portland General Electric service area. The maximum rebate a system can receive is $125,000.

• For Pacific Power and Light customers: The Energy Trust of Oregon offers a rebate of $1.25 per watt of rated DC capacity for the first 30kW and between $1.25 and $1.00 per watt for the next 70kW in the Pacific Power service area. The maximum rebate for a system is $100,000.
For systems up to 100 kW size, businesses will own green tags during the first 2 years of operation, and Energy Trust will own green tags during years 3 through 20. Incentive levels are subject to change.

For More Information: The following web sites offer further information on these incentives:

Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy (DSIRE) http://www.dsireusa.org/library/includes/genericfederal.cfm?State=Federal&CurrentPageId=1

Energy Trust of Oregon
http://www.energytrust.org/RR/PV/provide.html

Tax Incentives Assistance Project
http://www.energytaxincentives.org

Green Tags – Bonneville Environmental Foundation
http://www.b-e-f.org/GreenTags/index.cfm

Oregon Department of Energy
http://egov.oregon.gov/ENERGY/CONS/BUS/BETC.shtml

Financing:

Sunergy Systems is proud to be able to offer you various financing options with very attractive terms and rates. Please contact us for more information.