EWEB program allows businesses to sell solar power.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Eugene Water and Electric quietly launched a cutting-edge solar power program this winter that will buy electricity at premium prices from local businesses that have solar electric systems.

A mid-size business, for example, now pays the utility about 6 cents a kilowatt for the power it uses, but under the new program EWEB will buy any solar energy the business generates for 15 cents a kilowatt. And EWEB guarantees that price for a decade.

Participating businesses install solar arrays and are hooked directly to the power grid just like any other electricity generator, such as a wind farm, a hydroelectric dam or even a coal-fired power plant.

This program is different from previous EWEB solar programs because it offers no up-front grant to cover the cost of installation. Businesses have to find their own contractor, buy the materials and work through the city's permit process.

This type of pay-for-production model has been phenomenally successful in Europe, particularly in Germany. Combined with existing federal and state incentives in Oregon, it shows signs of sparking a solar boom in Eugene.

So far, George Rode's solar electricity generator at Euro-Asian Automotive is the only one that's come online through the month-old program.

Two other projects are in the works, said Bill Welch, who manages EWEB's photovoltaic program. He said he couldn't disclose the company names.

A pilot project from 2002 to 2004 hooked up six Eugene establishments with solar generators to the grid, including the Pacific Co-Op Building that houses The Beanery downtown and the Lillis Business Complex on the University of Oregon campus.

Through the new "Greenpower" program, EWEB also is allowing environmentally attuned residential and business customers to - in effect - buy the green energy produced through local business' solar projects.

The customers simply elect to pay an extra one cent per kilowatt hour (about $10 a month for the average household) on top of their regular utility rate.

Last year, EWEB sold out participation in a Wyoming wind power project that was similarly sold to customers willing to pay a premium for environmentally friendly power.

Interest in solar has spiked in the past couple of years, but to keep perspective it's only a fraction of 1 percent of EWEB's total energy supply.

Still, it's an important fraction because of the knowledge it's generating, said Mat Northway, who oversees the utility's conservation programs.

EWEB is working out technological and institutional issues associated with hooking businesses to the grid, distributing the power and buying from many small producers. "We're learning what we need to learn," he said.

- Diane Dietz