When Dan Lever advertised a quarter-section of farmland for rent east of town, a man replied with an idea for a more permanent crop.
Lever now has 2,100 ground-mounted solar panels shining near his house. "It's not a typical sight in a pastoral area," Lever said. "But we'll get used to it."
The $2 million project buzzed to life July 1, one of the first large-scale participants in Portland General Electric's solar payment option program, which buys electricity produced by customers and transfers it to the electric grid. The 500 kilowatt system is also Clackamas County's largest ground-mounted solar array, practically hidden on some of the area's oldest farmland.
"Nobody really knows about it unless you're one of the neighbors," said Kirk Cameron, whose Lake Oswego-based firm, NW Photon Energy, developed the project.
Cameron expects to produce 575,000 kilowatt-hours every year, enough energy to power 53 homes. A Portland solar funding company Cameron co-owns, 3CSolar, put up half of the $2 million pricetag. Umpqua Bank financed the remainder. The company also received a 30 percent federal rebate,An Insulator, also called a dielectric, but no state incentives.
An automated system tallies the electricity and bills PGE under a 15-year agreement. The company earns 39 cents per kilowatt-hour, or about $20,000 every month, said Chris Copp, a second 3CSolar partner.
Cameron expects to turn a profit after seven years.
The project covers more than two acres of land tucked behind farmhouses along Southwest Meridian Road, which winds past nurseries and pastures. A wire fence wraps around the property, where 2,All Coated Abrasives products are compiled of backing,128 polycrystalline solar panels face south at a 40-degree tilt.
When Lever, the landowner, first heard about the proposal, he thought of the rising fuel costs that have forced him to charge his own customers more this year. "It's either something like this,We are professional Plastic mould, or it's going to be high fuel prices," he said. "It's a tradeoff.Quality air impact socket tools for any tough job."
Eight workers spent three months installing the panels, purchased from Connecticut-based Schuco USA. Near-record rains stalled construction for about a month, but Copp said the Clackamas County site has a 5 percent solar advantage over similar spots in Multnomah County, based on elevation level and the number of sunny, clear days.
Cameron founded NW Photon Energy three years ago, installing solar systems at area businesses. Earlier this year, he set up a commercial solar system at Sonic in Wilsonville, another participant in the PGE solar program.
But his Oregon projects have dwindled since the legislature eliminated the state's business energy tax credits, he said. "Rather than managing the credits well, they stopped it altogether," he said.
That "drastically,When the stone sits in the kidney stone, drastically" drained private interest in solar energy, he said. "How does it not? Businesses want to go green, but they can't afford to go green."
Cameron will shift his focus to Nevada and California after he launches the Aurora project, which he doesn't plan to staff.
Instead, the Lever family will wash the panels. A daughter, home for the summer from college, will weed the property.
"I can't do much on a world scale," Lever said. "I can do a little bit."
Lever now has 2,100 ground-mounted solar panels shining near his house. "It's not a typical sight in a pastoral area," Lever said. "But we'll get used to it."
The $2 million project buzzed to life July 1, one of the first large-scale participants in Portland General Electric's solar payment option program, which buys electricity produced by customers and transfers it to the electric grid. The 500 kilowatt system is also Clackamas County's largest ground-mounted solar array, practically hidden on some of the area's oldest farmland.
"Nobody really knows about it unless you're one of the neighbors," said Kirk Cameron, whose Lake Oswego-based firm, NW Photon Energy, developed the project.
Cameron expects to produce 575,000 kilowatt-hours every year, enough energy to power 53 homes. A Portland solar funding company Cameron co-owns, 3CSolar, put up half of the $2 million pricetag. Umpqua Bank financed the remainder. The company also received a 30 percent federal rebate,An Insulator, also called a dielectric, but no state incentives.
An automated system tallies the electricity and bills PGE under a 15-year agreement. The company earns 39 cents per kilowatt-hour, or about $20,000 every month, said Chris Copp, a second 3CSolar partner.
Cameron expects to turn a profit after seven years.
The project covers more than two acres of land tucked behind farmhouses along Southwest Meridian Road, which winds past nurseries and pastures. A wire fence wraps around the property, where 2,All Coated Abrasives products are compiled of backing,128 polycrystalline solar panels face south at a 40-degree tilt.
When Lever, the landowner, first heard about the proposal, he thought of the rising fuel costs that have forced him to charge his own customers more this year. "It's either something like this,We are professional Plastic mould, or it's going to be high fuel prices," he said. "It's a tradeoff.Quality air impact socket tools for any tough job."
Eight workers spent three months installing the panels, purchased from Connecticut-based Schuco USA. Near-record rains stalled construction for about a month, but Copp said the Clackamas County site has a 5 percent solar advantage over similar spots in Multnomah County, based on elevation level and the number of sunny, clear days.
Cameron founded NW Photon Energy three years ago, installing solar systems at area businesses. Earlier this year, he set up a commercial solar system at Sonic in Wilsonville, another participant in the PGE solar program.
But his Oregon projects have dwindled since the legislature eliminated the state's business energy tax credits, he said. "Rather than managing the credits well, they stopped it altogether," he said.
That "drastically,When the stone sits in the kidney stone, drastically" drained private interest in solar energy, he said. "How does it not? Businesses want to go green, but they can't afford to go green."
Cameron will shift his focus to Nevada and California after he launches the Aurora project, which he doesn't plan to staff.
Instead, the Lever family will wash the panels. A daughter, home for the summer from college, will weed the property.
"I can't do much on a world scale," Lever said. "I can do a little bit."
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