| State: |
Oregon |
| Incentive Type: |
Energy Standards for Public Buildings |
| Eligible Renewable/Other Technologies: |
Passive Solar Space Heat, Solar Water Heat, Solar Space Heat, Photovoltaics, Geothermal Electric, Solar Pool Heating, Daylighting, Geothermal Direct-Use |
| Applicable Sectors: |
State Government |
| Requirement: | 1.5% of the total cost of a building project funded by the state must be dedicated to inclusion of green energy technology systems in the building |
| Web Site: |
http://oregon.gov/ENERGY/CONS/PublicSolar.shtml
|
Authority 1:
Date Enacted:
Date Effective:
|
ORS ยง 279C.527 et seq.
06/13/2007
01/01/2008
|
Authority 2:
Date Effective:
|
OAR 330-135-0010 to 330-135-0055
1/1/2008
|
Authority 3:
Date Enacted:
Date Effective:
|
SB 1533
3/27/2012
1/1/2013
|
Enacted in June 2007, House Bill 2620 introduced a unique requirement for installing solar energy systems on public buildings. In 2012, S.B. 1533 amended the requirement to allow the use of any green energy technology (including geothermal electric, geothermal direct use, solar electric, solar thermal, and passive solar) to meet the requirement. The law requires public agencies to spend at least 1.5% of the total contract price of an eligible public building on green energy technologies. Eligible buildings include any permanent structure owned, partially owned, or controlled by a public if any of the following is true:
- The building is used by the public;
- The building allows employees use or occupy the building on a regular basis for a significant part of their work.
Only public buildings where the total contract price is $1,000,000 or more for a single building or a group of buildings on the same site, or contracts for major renovations that exceed $1,000,000 and 50% of the insured value of the building. Geothermal systems, passive solar thermal systems, or daylighting systems must reduce the building's baseline energy use by 20% or more in order to be eligible for the standard. Solar electric, solar water heating, solar pool heating, and active solar space heating systems must be installed in locations that have a total solar resource fraction of 75% or more. Geothermal and solar electric systems must be metered separately to record electricity production.
Before entering into a public improvement contract, a contracting agency must prepare a written determination of whether a green energy technology system is appropriate for the building. The State Department of Energy developed a standard form for contracting agencies to use in developing their determination. If the contracting agency determines that green energy technology is inappropriate for a particular project, they can refrain from installing such systems, but must reserve the 1.5% of the project cost to install green energy technology on a future building project. These reserved funds will be coupled with the 1.5% of the future project's cost that must be set aside for green technologies.
