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Community Solar Program progresses in Oregon, PUC approves final Program Implementation Manual.

The Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) met a key milestone in the Community Solar Program by approving the final Program Implementation Manual at a public meeting on December 17 in Salem. This decision allows Project Managers to prepare their program applications for submittal later this month.

Electric utilities and independent third parties, such as municipalities, homeowner associations, public agencies, community organizations, tribes, and others, are encouraged to review the updated manual on the Program Implementation Manual page to learn more about Oregon Community Solar policies.

The Program’s pre-certification application is now available online and project managers can begin submitting applications on January 21, 2020. Prospective Project Managers must register in order to begin drafting and submitting pre-certification applications for review. Please allow 5 business days to be reviewed for approval by the Program Administrator.

“The approved manual represents the culmination of many rounds of stakeholder comments and workshops, and close collaboration between PUC Staff and the Community Solar Program Administrator, Energy Solutions. This is an important milestone in the process to implement Community Solar to enable more Oregonians to access solar generation through projects of their choice.”

– Megan Decker, PUC Chair

Read the PUC’s official press release here.

Please send your Oregon Community Solar Program questions, comments and feedback to: [email protected].

An updated launch timeline has been posted to our Stakeholder Engagement Website:

Updated Launch Timeline

Program stakeholders and potential project managers should attend the upcoming PIM Overview webinar on Thursday, November 21st at 12:30 PM. During the webinar, the program administration team will go over policy changes that reflect the most recent Commission Order, updates to the PIM, and the pre-certification launch timeline. Register here for the November 21st webinar.

The PIM will be published on the Oregon Community Solar Program website and the UM 1930 docket in early December. This version will be available for public comment which can be submitted through the docket. The PIM will be reviewed at the OPUC public meeting on December 17th.

The webinar will also include information on the Energy Trust of Oregon’s new incentive offering to support early development activities of small and public/nonprofit-led projects participating in the Oregon Community Solar Program. If you have questions about the incentive, contact the Energy Trust solar program or call 1.866.368.7878.

Please send your Oregon Community Solar Program questions, comments and feedback to: [email protected].

A revised schedule for program launch has been posted on our stakeholder engagement site. Visit the site here to view the latest timeline, and join us December 17th to discuss the Program Implementation Manual.

The Oregon Community Solar Program Administration team invites stakeholders to discuss updates to the program implementation manual (PIM) and pre-certification launch.

For an overview of the latest version of the Program Implementation Manual, register here for the webinar on November 21st at 12:30 PM. The latest version of the PIM manual will be posted  in its entirety on both the UM 1930 docket and also https://orcsplaunch.wordpress.com prior to the webinar. The Oregon Public Utilities Commission staff will present the final PIM and stakeholders will have an additional opportunity to comment at a future Commission meeting.

Please send your questions, comments and feedback to: [email protected].

The draft of the Balance of PIM chapter regarding how and when bill credits are applied to utility bills, subscription payments, and cancellations is now available under Resources on the stakeholder engagement site and ready for comment. The deadline for comments is 10/18/2019.
 
Feedback submissions are limited to one per organization. Any individual or organization can submit feedback on chapter sections or submit general comments.  Instructions on submitting feedback can be found on the Resources page on the stakeholder engagement site: https://orcsplaunch.wordpress.com/resources/

There are several program policies that have yet to be confirmed and you have an opportunity to provide feedback on what is proposed. The Oregon Public Utility Commission recently released a policy proposal associated with the UM 1930 docket that provides recommendations for the following program requirements:

• Low-income subscriber eligibility 
• Minimum low-income capacity requirements 
• Financial benefits for low-income subscribers 
• Transition from start-up to ongoing program costs 
• Bill credit rate 
• Transition to RVOS

The final staff memo will be released on October 4th and stakeholder comments are due on October 15th.  For any Commission comments or questions contact Caroline Moore at [email protected] or Natascha Smith at [email protected].

The following are important launch dates to keep in mind if you are a potential project manager, interested subscriber, or invested stakeholder. 

Policy Dates: 

• 10/4/19 – OPUC releases final policy recommendations for interconnection, bill credits, start-up to ongoing costs transition, and income-qualification issues. Open for comment 
• 10/15/19 – Last day to submit stakeholder written comment 
• 10/22/19 – Commission presents final policy at public meeting 
• 10/29/19 – Special public meeting held to decide on policy issues 

Program Implementation Manual Dates: 

• Week of 9/30/19 – Balance of PIM chapter released 
• 10/4/19 – 10/18/19 – Written stakeholder comments accepted 
• 11/18/19 – Final PIM posted and open for comments 
• 12/3/19 – Public meeting to discuss final PIM 

Program Launch 

• 12/4 – Project pre-certification platform opens—project managers can begin compiling project applications 
• 12/16 – Project Administrator opens pre-certification; project managers can begin submitting project applications 

If you are interested in developing a community solar project, you can now register as a project manager! To learn more about what it means to be a project manager and the associated requirements, visit the Program Development Process page and read the first draft of the project managers chapter. This is a draft chapter—the final chapter will be posted on the Program Implementation Manual page after it has been approved by the Oregon Public Utility Commission.  

For more information on project manager guidelines, visit the Project Manager Resources page for downloadable materials.  

After reviewing the requirements and resources, visit the enrollment page under the “Project Managers” tab to submit your registration.  

Registered project managers will be able to submit their projects for pre-certification starting early December. For more program updates, visit the News section periodically to check for updates. 

If you have any questions about project manager registration or participation, contact [email protected].