Over 40 percent of the lands in Malheur County have been designated as core habitat for sage grouse by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife ("ODFW"). Other counties in southeastern Oregon are also heavily affected. ODFW’s approach was to simply recommend against any development in core habitat, without consideration whether off-site mitigation could result … Continue Reading
Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber announced today that he has named Margi Hoffman to serve as his Energy Policy Advisor. She will join the Governor’s office on April 2. Ms. Hoffman has served as Senior Vice President and Director of Oregon Operations with Strategies360, a strategic consulting firm, and has also worked closely with Renewable Northwest Project (RNP) … Continue Reading
The CUB Policy Center, in partnership with the University of Oregon School of Law, will be holding its inaugural policy conference: Smart Grid: Today’s Regulation and Tomorrow’s Technology, on Friday, October 21, 2011, at the University of Oregon White Stag Block (70 NW Couch St., Portland, OR 97209). The luncheon keynote speaker will be former FERC Commissioner … Continue Reading
The Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) has issued new temporary BETC rules. The purpose of these rules, according to ODOE, is to clarify how the Section 1603 Grant will be deducted from BETC project costs. In an apparent reversal of ODOE’s recent position during the Tier Two and Tier Three application phases, the temporary rules … Continue Reading
An entry from our colleague Jake Storms: While wineries and vineyards have long been moving toward being “green,” several have taken the next step by installing renewable energy generation onsite. One of the most recent is August Cellars, just outside Newberg, Oregon. The winery recently installed a 150-foot-tall, 50-kilowatt wind turbine. August Cellars maneuvered around … Continue Reading
On November 24, 2010, the Oregon Department of Energy (“ODOE”) issued final permanent administrative rules (the “Permanent Rules”) relating to the Business Energy Tax Credit (“BETC”). For a description of the BETC generally, see our previous alerts on November 5, 2009, February 27, 2008, and July 2, 2007. The Permanent Rules finalize and make some … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the Oregon Department of Energy issued is final administrative rules for the biomass producer /collector tax credit. The new permanent rules can be viewed at the following link: http://oregon.gov/ENERGY/RENEW/Biomass/docs/BPC_PermRules.pdf/oregon.gov/ENERGY/RENEW/Biomass/docs/BPC_PermRules.pdf… Continue Reading
From our colleague Sara Bergan: In late 2009 the Oregon Public Utilities Commission (OPUC) initiated Docket No. UM 1460 focused on Smart Grid (SG) planning. More recently in October, and after public input on the scope of the proceeding, OPUC staff circulated a Straw Proposal for Utility Smart Grid Planning. The proposal groups SG issues … Continue Reading
Earlier this year, the Oregon Department of Energy (“ODOE”) allocated $10 million in tax credits for renewable energy projects with costs of less than $500,000 (“Tier One Projects”). On Wednesday, October 13, ODOE announced that it will no longer accept applications for Tier One Projects because as of October 11 ODOE had received applications for … Continue Reading
Pursuant to recently issued temporary regulations, the Oregon Department of Energy has imposed a July 30, 2010 deadline for projects seeking a BETC that have projected facility costs of $6 million or greater. See the link below for specific details. Tier Three Projects… Continue Reading
Mary Jo Miller from our Portland office and Jonn Kauffman of our Anchorage office are in Juneau today and tomorrow attending the National Hydropower Association‘s Regional meeting, where Mary Jo is participating on a panel discussing funding mechanisms available for building hydropower projects. Mary Jo will present a case study describing the various loan, grant, … Continue Reading
