Senate committee hears push to expand Oregon community solar, resolve interconnection and tax issues

Senate Energy and Environment Committee members on Feb. 26 heard more than an hour of testimony on Senate Bill 92, a proposal to expand Oregon’s community solar program, reduce interconnection delays and create new compensation for battery storage.

Proponents said the current program is nearly full and that expanding capacity and changing interconnection rules are needed to complete projects that would serve low-income customers, irrigation districts and other community partners.

“ This project will serve over 150 low income households with up to a million dollars in deep utility bill savings over the next 20 years,” Evan Ramsey, senior director of the renewables program at the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, told the committee, describing a Portland project his group helped develop. Ramsey said about 25% of the program’s capacity had been reserved for nonprofit-led projects but that both the carve-out and overall program capacity are now exhausted for projects ready to move forward.

Why it matters: Witnesses said projects already built or funded risk being unable to interconnect under current limits and queue delays. Supporters framed SB 92 as a fix to allow community-based projects — including floating array and irrigation district projects…