The Community Solar Program gives Oregon customers of Portland General Electric, Pacific Power and Idaho Power a new way to go solar. Customers can subscribe to a portion of a community solar project and receive a credit on their monthly utility bill for the electricity generated from their portion. 

Community solar projects are solar electric systems between 25kW and 3MW in size and can be located on buildings—like businesses, government buildings, schools or churches—or free-standing in an undeveloped area. Community solar is a great option for renters, people who live in multifamily buildings, homeowners that can’t serve their full energy needs with rooftop solar, and other customers who want to use clean energy but may not have a sunny roof of their own, or the means to invest in a rooftop system. 

On January 21, the Oregon Community Solar Program began accepting proposals from solar developers, municipalities, community organizations, and other groups interested in developing community solar projects. Any entity interested in developing a solar project must first register as a project manager on the registration page of the Community Solar Program website.

Solar trade allies and public and nonprofit organizations interested in building community-led projects that will serve, benefit and/or be sited in underserved communities can receive Energy Trust’s new Community Solar Development Assistance incentives, which provide support for early development activities for qualifying projects. Learn more about Community Solar Development Assistance incentives here.

Residents and businesses interested in participating in the Community Solar Program and subscribing to a portion of a solar system should sign up on the program website to be notified when projects are ready to enroll customers.

For more information about the Oregon Community Solar Program, to register as a project manager, or submit a project proposal, visit www.oregoncsp.org.