Oregon's 2021 Legislative Recap

Oregon Legislative session is finally over.  While many of us enjoyed testifying from home, a lot was lost in the virtual session.  Small problems that popped up would normally be fixed with a quick hallway conversation, so without that face-to-face interaction, some mistakes slipped through that will need to be fixed in a future session. 

But good things happened for solar!  We’re proud of our work this year.

Good news:

  • Solar + Storage Rebates have $10 million for the next two years. Learn More >

  • SB 154, the extension of the Solar PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) passed and lowers the floor for the fee to $5500.

  • HB 3141, the extension of the Public Purpose Charge, which funds Energy Trust incentives, passed and includes resiliency measures as eligible for incentives.

  • SB 338, the LRT update, increased the size of projects that LRTs can work on to 50 kW and allows LRTs to install microinverters.

  • HB 2475, a bill to provide ratepayer equity, passed and will allow the PUC to create a low-income ratepayer class.

  • SB 333, a renewable hydrogen study, passed.

  • SB 589, a regional transmission office study, passed.

  • HB 3375, an off-shore wind plan, passed.

Some good and some bad news:

  • HB 2021, the 100% Clean Electricity Standard passed and becomes law in late September.

The Good parts of HB 2021

  • A one-time infusion of $50 mil into the RED grant, which now has expanded eligibility for resilience projects and planning for those projects.

  • The small-scale renewable carve-out has been increased from 8% to 10%.

  • Oregon will reach 100% clean electricity by 2040 .

The Bad parts of HB 2021

  • The small-scale renewable carve-out is still measured in capacity, not energy generation.

  • The new labor standards for renewable projects over 10 MW do not contain technical fixes required to make the standards functional.  We will work to make these corrections during the next session.

  • No in-state siting requirement.

  • Weakening of PUC oversight to keep the energy market competitive.

  • No policy support for residential or commercial solar.

Potential good part of HB 2021 - expansion of Green Tariff

  • HB 2021 also expands the existing Green Tariff program to allow a local government to adopt an ordinance authorizing higher rates for a Green Tariff.  This program has potential, but it remains to be seen how much solar will benefit.

The bad news

  • HB 2520, which reforms the land-use goal exception process, did not pass this session.  We will work with bill champions to bring the issue back next session.

  • HB 3221, a bill to create the Oregon Renewable Options program, did not pass

  • HB 2398, a bill to improve the Reach Code, did not pass

OSSIA Oregon Solar