Portland General Electric has completed installation of the largest rooftop solar project in the Pacific Northwest — a 673,000-square-foot, 2.4-megawatt project atop the roofs of seven ProLogis distribution warehouses in Portland, Gresham, and Clackamas.
Working with local contractors, PGE and ProLogis began construction of the $14 million solar project in March 2010 and brought the project online in early July 2010. This is the second rooftop solar project with ProLogis, a distribution facilities company, bringing PGE’s total solar build-out with ProLogis to 3.5 megawatts of solar energy.
“Solar is clearly growing in Oregon and our customers are helping drive that,” said Carol Dillin, PGE’s vice president of customers and economic development. “We have seen unprecedented growth of residential and business solar projects in our area over the past two years which, coupled with the growth in solar manufacturing, helps develop more clean, renewable resources for the region and stimulate Oregon’s green economy.”
With the new 2.4-megawatt project, PGE will have more than 14.3 megawatts of solar capacity in its resource mix, including the 104-kilowatt solar highway demonstration project with the Oregon Department of Transportation and more than 10.7 megawatts of customer-owned solar energy projects PGE supports through its net metering program. PGE also expects another 17.5 megawatts of customer-owned solar energy projects to come online through the state’s recently adopted five-year solar energy incentive pilot program, the Solar Payment Option program.
In 2009, PGE ranked among the top 10 utilities in the western regionfor solar installations, according to the national Solar Energy Power Association.
PGE partnered with U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corporation, ProLogis, and several Oregon companies on the project. Northwest Solar Solutions, a division of locally-owned Snyder Roofing and the installer for this project, estimates 60,000 hours of family-wage electrical and roofing work in Oregon were created by this project.
The renewable energy generated from the solar project is now included in PGE’s energy resource mix and helps the utility meet the state’s renewable energy standard of providing 25 percent renewable energy by the year 2025. PGE expects it will be at nearly 9 percent renewable energy in 2010.
Energy Trust of Oregon is providing $2.3 million in incentives for the project.
“This installation shows the potential for cultivating the rooftop real estate of Oregon to generate clean, renewable energy,” said Peter West, director of energy programs, Energy Trust. “The combination of utility investments, Energy Trust incentives and Oregon Business Energy Tax Credits are combining to help Oregon reach its renewable energy and job creation goals.”
Other partners on the project include PV Powered (Bend, Ore.), Frahler Electric, and Tonkon Torp (Portland). The project also received funding from PGE’s Clean Wind program, which helps fund renewable energy projects in the region.
About PGE: Portland General Electric, headquartered in Portland, Ore., is a fully integrated electric utility that serves more than 817,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Oregon. Visit our Web site at www.PortlandGeneral.com.
SOURCE: Portland General Electric
PGE
Elaina Medina, 503-464-8790
