Oregon’s transition into a post-COVID-19 economy continues to impact businesses across the state. Over the past year, Energy Trust trade allies have reported market volatility leading to both highs and lows for their businesses. Energy Trust appreciates trade allies’ efforts to assist customers in this challenging market. We are working to support trade allies and customers during these volatile times.

The uneven recovery continues to impact Energy Trust’s budget. The market is volatile and challenging to predict. Demand for all types of energy-efficient equipment and incentives has grown as more Oregonians are vaccinated and businesses return to higher production and occupancy levels. To better manage our incentive budgets, Energy Trust of Oregon is placing incentive limits on energy-efficient equipment that uses natural gas. These incentive limits apply to customers with commercial and industrial sites located in Oregon and served by NW Natural and Avista. They do not apply to customers of Cascade Natural Gas in Oregon or NW Natural customers in Washington.

Energy Trust is introducing these new incentive limits to manage gas incentive budgets for the remainder of 2021 and ensure that a greater number of customers have access to Existing Buildings and Production Efficiency incentives. Incentive limits apply to purchases of the following types of equipment:

• Greenhouse equipment
• Commercial equipment, including equipment installed in multifamily properties
• Industrial equipment

Effective dates of these changes vary. The following information includes dates and other relevant details.

Greenhouse equipment upgrades and rebates, effective June 25, 2021

Energy Trust placed a limit of $5,000 per system type, per year, per site for applications received after June 25, 2021. This incentive limit applies to:

• Greenhouse reglazing upgrades (requires pre-approval)
• Greenhouse boiler upgrades (requires pre-approval)
• Greenhouse rebates (all considered as a single system type for the incentive limit)
  • Infrared polyethylene greenhouse cover
  • Condensing unit heater
  • Intelligent greenhouse controller with night setback
  • Under-bench heating
  • Thermal curtain

Greenhouse incentive limits were communicated to trade allies and vendors on June 24, 2021. As a reminder, customers who purchased and installed equipment prior to June 25 must submit all completed paperwork by July 9, 2021, to receive a rebate that is not subject to the new incentive limits.

Calculated incentives for NW Natural industrial customers, effective July 9, 2021

For NW Natural industrial customers only, calculated incentives for industrial gas equipment are fully subscribed in 2021 and not currently available.

• This applies to process hot water boilers, as well as greenhouse reglazing upgrades and greenhouse boiler upgrades mentioned above.
• Calculated incentives for electric equipment are still available. Check Energy Trust’s website for complete information on available calculated incentives.

Standard Industrial and standard Existing Buildings gas equipment incentive limits, effective July 9, 2021

Incentive limits for commercial and industrial customers of NW Natural and Avista apply to all other Standard Industrial and standard Existing Buildings gas equipment incentives. If a customer has purchased and installed a project by July 9, 2021, but has not yet submitted their application, they must submit all completed paperwork to Energy Trust by July 16, 2021, to receive an incentive that is not subject to the new limits.

• For industrial sites, the incentive limit is $5,000 per system type, per year, per site. Customers may submit one incentive application per site in 2021 for each for the following system types:
  • Process hot water boiler (Avista only, requires pre-approval)
  • Natural gas heating (condensing HVAC boiler, radiant heater)
  • Building and pipe insulation
  • Steam traps
• For commercial sites, the current limit now includes incentives for both standard gas equipment and standard electric equipment. The limits vary by utility and are per site, per year.
  • For NW Natural customers who are served by Portland General Electric, the limit is $12,000 per site per year for all equipment, gas or electric.
  • For NW Natural or Avista customers who are served by Pacific Power, the limit is $6,000 for all equipment, gas or electric.
  • For NW Natural or Avista customers who are served by another electric utility (not PGE or Pacific Power) the limit is $12,000 per site, per year.
  • For Cascade Natural Gas customers:
    • Served by Pacific Power and installing electric equipment, there is an incentive limit of $6,000 per site, per year.
    • Served by Pacific Power and installing gas or gas/electric equipment, there is no incentive limit.
    • Served by any other electric utility (not Pacific Power) there is no incentive limit.

Table 1: Commercial Site Incentive Limit Breakdown

Energy Trust remains committed to supporting our customers and trade allies. Our website has been updated with current information on incentives. We will keep trade allies informed of incentive changes throughout the year with as much advance notice as we can provide. If you have questions about any of this information, please contact your account manager or:

• Industrial and Agriculture program at streamlinedindustrial@energytrust.org
• Existing Buildings/Multifamily program at existingbuildingsTA@energytrust.org