Beginning January 1, 2015, trade ally contractors can generate and submit photovoltaic Residential Energy Tax Credit, RETC, applications online using PowerClerk.

That means for projects entered into PowerClerk as part of the Energy Trust incentive application process, RETC applications will be auto-filled with project information already provided. Once the installation is complete, the application can be sent to the customer electronically for signature, completely eliminating the need for printing and delivering paperwork. The customer will also receive a PDF of the tax credit certificate.

For third party-owned systems, the tax credit reservation process can also be completed in PowerClerk as soon as the project is in funds reserved status with Energy Trust. Note that third party-owned projects that were submitted to the Oregon Department of Energy using the 2014 spreadsheet reservation process should be completed using the 2014 paper process.

Active applications for both the Oregon Department of Energy and Energy Trust can be managed from within the same PowerClerk dashboard. At the top of the PowerClerk web page, next to the new application button, you will see a dropdown under ‘Agency’ that will allow you to toggle between the two organizations.

If a dropdown does not appear, the login being used may not have been transferred automatically. To request an Oregon Department of Energy PowerClerk login, contact Gina Gonzalez.

The Department of Energy hosted a series of webinars in December to provide training on the new PowerClerk platform. These recorded webinars are available to watch on the Oregon Department of Energy website.

For questions on the Oregon Department of Energy RETC program, contact Deby Davis, program manager.