I am the daughter of a career Marine and grew up on military bases around the country. What I took away from seeing my father put on a uniform each morning was a sense of service and the importance of working for something larger than myself. Driving across the country every other summer to a new duty station impressed on me that nothing is static and how important it is to be flexible.

My love for engineering can be directly linked to a multicolored set of Lego bricks. Why I chose to go into Aerospace engineering is not as clear. I attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo where the motto is “Learn by Doing” and it wasn’t until much later that I realized not all engineers had the benefit of such a hands-on education....In 2008, I moved to Oregon to be closer to my family and to start a career in the solar industry. An engineering degree - even one with a focus on hands-on learning - doesn't make up for a lack of construction experience. So I started at the bottom to learn the trade.

Tags

Between OSEIA’s priority bills moving and a successful lobby day, it's been a good month for solar in Oregon's capitol but the outcome is still uncertain.

First, all three of OSEIA’s priority bills passed their first legislative hurdle by passing out of the House Energy & Environment Committee. Second, OSEIA hosted a successful and productive Solar Lobby Day last Monday in the capitol. OSEIA is beyond grateful to the 83 members and supporters who attended. We met with 67 legislators or their staff, that’s 75% of the 90-person legislature. Third, OSEIA policy staff and ten board members met with Governor Brown to discuss OSEIA’s solar priorities and solar’s role in our future. Nevertheless, we’ve a lot of work ahead to secure OSEIA’s priorities, and given the budget context, the outcome, particularly on RETC, is far from certain.

Tags Policy Update

The intention of this series is to give you, as a reader, a sense of where and how culture is thriving in the solar industry, and how you might begin to strengthen company culture in your own company or place of business. I conducted this interview with Ry Heller, Field Manager at True South Solar which currently employs 18 solar team members with 2 solar install teams.

Tamara: What does a thriving culture mean to you?

Ry: I think about it along the lines of my community here in Ashland. Our company is a little thriving culture within that. We have like-minded visions, shared goals, and our job is environmental activism. Our little thriving culture is more than just a job where you show up and make money. It’s a little community within the bigger community of people who want to make a difference, and enjoy showing up to work everyday to make that difference. We’re not just coworkers, but we’re all getting to know each other better, doing things outside of work sometimes, providing a very friendly community of support for one another...

Tags Thriving Culture, Thriving Solar

At Puget Sound Cooperative Credit Union (PSCCU) we’ve been serving the financial needs of our neighbors since 1934 with a variety of products and services. But one of the ways we’re different is we’re one of the few financial institutions offer energy-efficiency / solar loans. Our Energy-Smart Loans improve housing stock, lower energy usage AND put people to work. Our deposits go towards supporting the environment, sustainability and YOUR local economy. That’s how PSCCU practices community and cooperation. Our solar program (to date) has helped over 2,600 Washingtonians become solar citizens, created living wage jobs, and these solar projects have put nearly $75 million back into our local economy which in turn will generate 6,100 Megawatts of electricity over their lifetime! We’re looking forward to adding Oregon solar projects to those numbers.

Oregon residents can join PSCCU and take advantage of our Energy-Smart loan program simply by becoming a member of the NW Energy Coalition (NWEC). More information about the Coalition and membership can be found on their website.

Tags

The 2017 legislative session is well underway and the OSEIA legislative team is hard at work. We are pursuing the policy agenda developed by the membership and approved by the board. Here’s an update on what’s happening with the key bills taking up most of our time.

• HB 2681 - Six-Year Extension of the Residential Energy Tax Credit (RETC): This bill had its first hearing on March 29.
• HB 2760 - Property Tax Exemption for On-site Renewables: The bill moved from the House Energy and Environment Committee to the House Revenue Committee on April 4.
• HB 3227 - Create a Tax Incentive for Community Solar Participants: The legislature created a community solar policy in 2016 that will give people who cannot put solar on their roofs the opportunity to participate in a solar project and see the benefits on their utility bill
• SB 339 - Clarifying the Small-Scale Renewable Mandate in the Increased Renewable Energy Standard: When the legislature increased the Renewable Energy Standard for Oregon’s two largest private utilities, they included a mandate to include a portion of small-scale renewables (under 20 MW).
• SB 979 - Renewable Energy Direct Access: Many large utility customers (Wal-mart, Microsoft, Facebook and the like) want to have access to increased renewable resources to be able to say that they are powered by renewable energy.

Tags Policy Update

Solar Makes its Mark on Legislature

OSEIA is beyond grateful to its members and supporters who attended Monday's Solar Lobby Day in Oregon's capitol. The importance of that event is difficult to overstate. With all three of OSEIA’s priority bills out of their first committee last week, this was our first chance to carry the message of RETC’s importance to a broader range of legislators.

By any measure, lobby day was successful. All told we met with 67 legislators or their staff. That’s 75% of the 90-person legislature. At least 83 solar pros and supporters attended...

Tags Policy Update

Tags Policy Update

Click here to read April 2017 Oregon Solar Review

Tags

OSEIA caught up with Jeni Hall, Sr. Project Manager to ask her a few questions about this year’s Solar Contractor Day sponsored by Energy Trust of Oregon on Tuesday May 9th.

What is Solar Contractor Day?

A whole day of training on Tuesday May 9th designed just for Oregon solar contractors brought to you by Energy Trust of Oregon. Talking with solar trade allies we hear that many contractors are interested in growing their businesses, increasing their profits, and decreasing costs. We contracted with national industry experts on financial management, business operations, and installation best practices to help by providing Oregon solar contractors the tools needed to meet their goals.

Is there something different about Solar Contractor Day this year?

Yes! This year we have something for the whole team by offering two educational tracks. Focus on either business development or technical skills...

Tags continuing education

Community solar offers exciting possibilities to help consumers who can’t put solar on their roof still access the benefits of solar by participating in a larger project and getting a portion of the energy from that project credited to their bill.

The Oregon legislature adopted a community solar policy in February 2016. The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) was charged with writing rules for the policy. The PUC has held a series of workshops starting in the second half of 2016 and continuing into 2017 as part of an informal process for the community solar rulemaking docket (AR 603). The community solar statute requires that rules for the program be in place by July 1, 2017.

Tags Community Solar, Policy Update