Putting the Pedal to the Metal for Electric Vehicles in 2017

By Joni Sliger, Energy Fellow

Recharging a Toyota RAV4 electric vehicle
Credit: Warren Gretz / NREL

Vehicle electrification is vital to a clean energy future, and it is a process that may soon accelerate in Oregon. Improving Oregon’s transportation system broadly is one of Governor Kate Brown’s top four action items for this legislative session. Her legislative agenda notes that an improved transportation system is necessary as the “backbone of a thriving Oregon economy” and that it can help the state reach its greenhouse gas reduction goals (currently, to reduce emissions 10% below 1990 levels by 2020 and 75% below 1990 levels by 2050). Transportation is Oregon’s highest emitting sector, according to the Oregon Greenhouse Gas Inventory, and amounts for more than a third of all Oregon’s emissions. To combat climate change and meet Oregon’s greenhouse gas reduction goals, we need a cleaner transportation system; for that, we need vehicle electrification.

Some electric vehicles are present in Oregon, but the market has a lot of room for growth. According to a new online dashboard designed by the Center for Sustainable Energy for the Auto Alliance, Oregon ranks third in the nation for the state’s market share of light-duty electric vehicles, measured from 2013 to 2016. But this market share—the number of electric vehicles out of all vehicles in the state—is still only 1.5%. While the proportion of electric vehicles relative to all vehicles is higher only in Washington and California, the overwhelming majority of vehicles sold are not electric. Oregon has made more progress in deploying electric vehicles than most of the U.S.: for example, despite a relatively small population, Oregon ranks 10th in the nation for number of electric vehicles sold, with 10,825 electric vehicles sold in the state from 2011 to 2016. However, Oregon still needs to do more to electrify its transportation sector. 

One way to galvanize the market is through public investment. For example, the Mayor of Portland is one of four West Coast mayors working together to support the transition to electric vehicles. In a Request For Information (RFI) to auto manufacturers, the mayors announced their interest in obtaining or leasing up to 24,000 electric vehicles. The mayors propose to change city fleets to electric vehicles, hoping to lead by example by adopting electric vehicles. Additionally, they hope such high demand will help the young market transition to mass production, eventually resulting in lower prices for all consumers. The bid for the RFI is due March 1, so manufacturers still have time to submit proposals.

While we can hope for legislators to act this session to further support vehicle electrification, they have also taken action recently. Last session, Oregon legislators passed the Clean Electricity & Coal Transition Act. As my colleague, Andrea Lang Clifford, wrote last year, the new law requires the state’s utilities to propose EV charging infrastructure programs, which the PUC may approve if it finds the proposals to be prudent investments of ratepayers’ money. As Andrea noted, this is an incremental step, heavily dependent on the PUC’s views of prudency. While the utilities submitted their proposals in late December 2016, the PUC has yet to rule on them. Among the proposed actions are (1) pilot projects for new charging infrastructure (including charging stations five electric Tri-Met buses); (2) educational campaigns, including showcasing electric vehicles at car shows; (3) additional research into the technologies involved; and (4) a rate change for vehicle charging to incentivize the market switch. (You can read Pacific Power’s applications here and here; PGE’s here; and Idaho Power’s here). The PUC is set to have hearings on most of these applications in early February and decide whether the proposed actions are worth the cost to the ratepayers, so stay tuned to learn how the PUC rules on these proposals.

This year, Oregon legislators are ready to work on major transportation legislation. Hopefully, legislators will advance vehicle electrification and continue moving Oregon towards a clean energy future. 

Community Solar in Portland: Options and Barriers

By Andrea Lang, Energy Fellow

 

 

Credit: NREL

In my last blog post, I wrote about the difficulty of securing long-term access to solar energy as a barrier to residential rooftop solar development in Portland. However, many people, particularly in Portland, rent houses or apartments and thus aren’t in a position to install solar PV on their rental units or buildings. Even for those that do own their property, a 2008 study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory found that only 22–27% of the country’s total residential rooftop area is suitable for solar PV installation. 

So what do you do if you want to install solar panels but don’t own a suitable roof? In some parts of the country, community solar presents an attractive alternative to individual solar ownership. Community solar refers to a system in which multiple people can invest in a solar project and receive power and/or financial benefits in proportion to their investment in the project. There are a number of models for community solar projects ranging from small-scale solar gardens and co-ops to large utility-sponsored projects. These options were explained in greater detail in a 2014  blog post by GEI Fellow Kyra Hill. More information on community solar in general is also available in the U.S. Department of Energy’s “Guide to Community Solar.” 

In Portland, however, community solar options are limited. In 2012, the City of Portland attempted a community solar pilot project, but ultimately concluded that the state’s net metering law presented a significant barrier to development of small scale, non-utility community solar projects. Oregon’s net-metering law allows solar owners to obtain credit from their utility for the amount of power they transmit onto the grid. Unfortunately, Oregon’s net-metering law provides no way for offsite solar generation to provide credit to solar owners, or for multiple solar owners to share credit for the generation from a jointly-owned system. Some other states allow what is called “virtual” net metering, which increases the viability of community solar by allowing multiple solar owners to share the benefits of net-metering from an offsite project in proportion to their ownership. Unless Oregon amends its net-metering policy to allow for virtual net-metering, it will be difficult to get community solar projects off the ground in Portland, because community solar owners cannot derive much financial benefit from such projects.

In the meantime, prospective Portland solar owners who do not own solar-suitable properties may turn to utility-sponsored “community” solar, as Energy Fellow Brandon Kline blogged about earlier this week. Under a program like PGE’s “Green Future,” the utility can invest in solar projects, while passing the cost onto those customers that choose to support the investment by joining the program. Thus, although these types of programs encourage utilities to invest in solar projects they might not otherwise pursue, they also require customer participants to pay an additional premium on their electricity bills. In short, they amount to “feel-good” programs where customers can pay more to know that some of their electricity is coming from solar, but do not otherwise provide  financial or energy benefits to the customers. In order to help community solar projects get off the ground in Portland, the state should adopt virtual net metering legislation that truly incentivizes development of jointly-owned, offsite solar projects.