A fortified Oregon business energy tax credit (BETC), which raises the maximum write-off for renewables from 35 percent on $10 million projects to 50 percent on $20 million projects, is all but certain to pass into law as HB 2811 before legislators head home from Salem. But a new BETC won't do businesses much good unless lawmakers also close a loophole that devalues tax credits in years such as 2007, when the state will pay out a business tax kicker. As things stand, the kicker lessens corporate tax burdens and, in turn, eats into the value of the credits for would-be buyers - costly both in millions of dollars to the economy and megawatts gone undeveloped.

The Bonneville Power Administration has initiated a rate case to set the price for balancing services for wind generation because of the rising expense of integrating increasingly large amounts of the intermittent resource in its control area. ... The agency must also be able to absorb the highest hour of expected generation because it runs the risk that its existing resources cannot absorb the added energy. In the case of hydro or pumped storage, the agency would have to spill water rather than use it to generate power or use it at a less efficient time. Therefore, the agency will have to assess a sink charge.

When the government's $787 billion economic stimulus package became law last month, the Bonneville Power Administration was one of the many beneficiaries. The federal utility wasted no time making use of its share, rolling out plans for a major transmission project ...The project now aims to provide service for 873 megawatts of energy - about 700 megawatts of that from wind power. That wouldn't have been the case seven years ago, he said.

The list of qualifying devices includes passive solar space heating, solar water heating, solar thermal electric, photovoltaic, wind, biomass, hydroelectric, fuel cells and alternative energy refueling stations.

Georgia-Pacific isn't promising any increase in jobs at the mill. Up and running, the wind farm will employ eight people. And while Genentech says it might employ 300 within 10 years, it isn't guaranteeing anything.

When three Eastern Oregon wind farms got big federal grants last week, the news brought a debate that has been simmering at the state level to a boil. Because wind farms are expensive, wind power company officials say, they need all the help they can get. But some say the recent grants serve as a high-profile reminder that Oregon doesn't need to spend more to woo wind farms. "Oregon is far more generous than other states," in terms of renewable energy credits, said Jody Wiser, chairwoman of Tax Fairness Oregon. "And it's not driving more building in Oregon; it's just giving money away."

The Emerald People's Utility District is ready to invest in wind farms and other renewable energy projects - but first needs a thumbs-up from voters. Measure 20-126 on the Nov. 7 ballot would allow EPUD to enter into multiple contracts for up to 100 megawatts of electricity generated by renewable resources. EPUD already allows customers to buy "green" power that it purchases from other sources of renewable energy. But now the utility is ready to actually invest in renewable energy projects - which can require debt service payments on money borrowed for construction, even if no electricity is ever produced.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski ordered a hurry-up review Tuesday of Oregon's incentives for renewable energy companies in the face of ongoing criticism of the tax breaks. ...The governor's request comes on the heels of an investigation by The Oregonian that revealed state officials downplayed the estimated cost of the incentives before they were expanded by the 2007 Legislature at Kulongoski's urging.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski proposed increasing the state's tax credit for energy efficiency and alternative fuels on Monday, an idea quickly seconded by Republican rival Ron Saxton.

VALE - Wind turbines reaching 400 feet into the air are not a normal sight along the high desert plains of Eastern Oregon, but as the federal government continues to provide enticing grant options to entrepreneurs in the state, that form of clean energy technology could become more common locally. One case in point is a recent decision by the United States Department of Agriculture regarding a grant for a feasibility study for a 10 megawatt family wind farm in Vale.

Oregon lawmakers tried to save millions of taxpayer dollars by trimming state subsidies enjoyed by wind energy farms, but Gov. Ted Kulongoski said today he plans to veto that effort. In doing so, the governor signaled he has little tolerance for any retreat on his vision for the state as a national center for alternative energy -- recession or no. ...Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, who led the effort to rein in wind farm tax credits, said ...the tax breaks go too far and cost too much.

A state program that subsidizes green energy projects got trimmed Friday when lawmakers gave final approval to a bill that reduces tax credits for Oregon wind farms. Gov. Ted Kulongoski hasn't decided on the bill. His aide said he doesn't want to roll back Oregon's incentives for alternative energy because they have delivered "tremendous economic returns." At the same time, he recognizes that the state needs all the money it can get in the next two years.

In a public hearing Wednesday, the Morrow County Court approved of a special tax schedule for the Willow Creek Wind Farm, which is building 48 wind turbines in Morrow and Gilliam counties. The program, known as a Strategic Investment Program (SIP), allows the energy company to pay the majority of its property taxes spread out over 15 years rather than the first six, which is the norm under tax schedules. Paul Woodin, the executive director of the community renewable energy association, said that without the SIP, Oregon would be one of the most expensive places to site a wind farm.

The most expensive of the tax breaks would reimburse businesses for half the cost of wind farms, biofuel plants and other renewable energy plants or equipment. Deckert said that break will create good jobs and make Oregon more prosperous.

Oregon taxpayers are shelling out tens of millions of dollars to subsidize green energy projects, making the state a magnet for solar and wind companies. But an investigation by The Oregonian shows that the money also is going to risky ventures with questionable environmental benefits and to prosperous companies that need no incentives but are cashing in anyway. ..."It's gotten out of hand," says Chuck Sheketoff, director of the Oregon Center for Public Policy, which studies the impact of state tax policies on low-income residents. "It's being scammed. It's not serving its purpose."

In the waning, let's-make-a-deal days of the 2009 Oregon Legislature, clean-energy advocates, utilities and industry trade groups have been wrangling over three bills that could significantly modify renewable energy legislation implemented just two years ago.

Twenty-five percent renewable power by 2025? Northern Wasco County PUD and some other utilities are saying "not so fast." Gov. Ted Kulongoski's plan to push Oregon to get 25 percent of its power from renewable energy by 2025 could face a vote in the Oregon Senate as early as the end of this week. But members of Northern Wasco County PUD's leadership team say the bill is poorly designed and doesn't consider what it will cost customers, or the bill's impact on economic development. Generally speaking, the new bill would require larger electrical utilities to get 25 percent of their power from renewable energy - wind, wave, biomass, geothermal, etc. - by the year 2025, with intermediate goals set every five years starting in 2010. .............Higher costs can be disastrous for economic stability, Langer said. "Not one business looking at coming here has asked us how green our power is," Langer said. "They want to know about price." Immediate efforts to meet renewable power standards could have a damaging effect on efforts to recruit new business to the community and maintain economic stability, he said. "Baseload resources will best serve our needs now," Langer said. "They will actually save money for our customers later on. Those decisions need to be left with the electrical utilities."

State officials deliberately underestimated the cost of Gov. Ted Kulongoski's plan to lure green energy companies to Oregon with big taxpayer subsidies, resulting in a program that cost 40 times more than unsuspecting lawmakers were told, an investigation by The Oregonian shows. Records also show that the program, a favorite of Kulongoski's known as the Business Energy Tax Credit, has given millions of dollars to failed companies while voters are being asked to raise income taxes because the state budget doesn't have enough to pay for schools and other programs.

So many businesses are getting tax subsidies under Oregon's effort to promote alternative energy that the state now estimates it will spend $167 million on them in 2009-11, up from $68 million it gave out in similar tax breaks in 2007-09. The higher spending demonstrates the increasing popularity of Oregon's Business Energy Tax Credit. But it comes at time when other state programs face cutbacks, and that's giving some lawmakers heartburn.

Given a chance to put a bill on Gov. Ted Kulongoski's desk that would cut Oregon's generous wind tax credits, the state House of Representatives paused today. Now a bill that would cut Oregon's Business Energy Tax Credits goes to a conference committee.