Southeast exposure: package deal on solar

Portland neighbors unite to learn solar ropes, hire installer

By Shannon O. Wells

The Portland Tribune, Oct 8, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Jaime Valdez / Pamplin Media Group

Andrew Van Gorder of 3D Electrical Services hauls a solar panel up onto the roof of Mount Tabor residents Lori and Christoph Murphy, who are participating in the Solarize Portland program.

Christoph Murphy is about to witness a unique spinning motion — one that may make him the envy of Portland homeowners beleaguered by utility bills.

A 4.2-kilowatt solar-panel system installed on his Mount Tabor-area rooftop in mid-September has the potential to generate more electricity than his three-person household uses at various times. When that happens, the meter on his electric dial will switch direction, as excess solar power feeds into the electric grid, sharing Murphy’s surplus green power with other utility customers and trimming his electric bill.

“It sounds great to me — farming your own energy,” Murphy says. “I’m looking forward to seeing that meter run in reverse.”

Not only that, but Murphy is getting an unprecedented deal on his solar installation, as the first of 335 Southeast Portland homeowners to follow through on the Solarize Portland project.

The community project began in May 2009, when Mount Tabor neighbors teamed up to help each other with technical advice, jointly select solar contractors and get a bulk deal on solar installations. The project blossomed beyond everyone’s expectations, attracting hundreds of neighbors throughout Southeast Portland.

Solarize Portland participants are cutting their total solar installation costs as much as 80 percent, via a bulk purchasing deal, Energy Trust cash incentives, and state and federal tax credits.

The initial estimate that 50 homeowners might join proved delightfully below the mark, with 335 folks signing up by the Sept. 16 deadline.

“We didn’t expect the response we’ve gotten, for sure,” says Tim O’Neil, sustainability coordinator of Southeast Uplift Neighborhood Coalition, which links Portland neighborhood interests with governmental entities. “This group is going to have a pretty good environmental impact.”

Idea took off

Hearing about a similar undertaking in San Francisco, O’Neil connected with Stephanie Stewart, a Mount Tabor resident who wound up heading up Solarize Portland. With the nonprofit Energy Trust and its residential solar program manager, Lizzie Rubado, hopping on board, a synergy emerged among the constituencies, and they were off.

“Steph and I started talking around the beginning of May,” O’Neil says. “We met with Lizzie at the end of May, and literally a week later we got the ball rolling.”

The project soon outgrew its Mount Tabor origins and expanded, largely by word of mouth, into other parts of Southeast Portland.

“It’s really exploded,” Stewart says. “It shocked everyone since the day we made that decision.”

The volume of participants allows those whose homes qualify to save as much as 25 percent off the price of solar panels and related equipment, according to Energy Trust calculations. Through state and federal tax credits and Energy Trust cash incentives, those seeking a typical 2-kilowatt system will pay as little as $370 to augment with solar power.

Great time to go solar

Rubado, who led workshops for residents throughout the summer, says the collusion of incentives, tax credits and oodles of willing investors makes this a stellar moment to shoot for the sun.

“It’s never gonna get more affordable than it is right now,” Rubado told about 50 residents gathered for a recent workshop at Roots Brewery in Southeast Portland. “This is the lowest price I’ve ever seen.”

The size of the system a homeowner chooses to install determines the end cost. There are many factors to consider, including affordability, available roof space, daily sun exposure and the amount of energy the household typically consumes.

Based on a 50-home aggregate purchase through the program, a 3-kilowatt system normally costing around $20,500 — which Solarize Portland considers ideal for a Portland bungalow — would cost around $3,600 after incentives, tax credits and the bulk rate.

At today’s electricity rates, that system would save about 3,000 kilowatts per year, for a $300 savings. In 10 years, the system would pay for itself, according to Energy Trust. If energy costs rise, that would shorten the payback time. Of course, that’s not to mention the less palpable benefits of generating green energy for Portland and promoting alternative energy.

“Tax credits and incentives, when paired with creative approaches like Solarize Portland,” Rubado says, “are making solar a possibility for Oregonians who want to control their energy costs and reduce the effects of global warming.”

Right place, right time

While laying out the process at the workshop, Rubado refuted common misconceptions about solar power and its viability in the soggy Pacific Northwest.

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