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State Solar Energy Grants Shine Heavily On Central, Southern Oregon

File photo of solar panels. The U.S. Commerce Department is imposing steep tariffs on imported panels from China and Taiwan after ruling they were unfairly undercutting prices for U.S. competitors.
Flickr/Shelby Farms
File photo of solar panels. The U.S. Commerce Department is imposing steep tariffs on imported panels from China and Taiwan after ruling they were unfairly undercutting prices for U.S. competitors.

The Oregon Department of Energy announced $1.5 million in grants Thursday to developers across the state. Of the 17 projects the department funded, all but one involves solar power.

The one exception is a $110,000 hydroelectric project for the Sisters Irrigation District. The solar recipients include a school, two ranches, a theater, a visitors center, and two affordable housing projects.

The biggest awards were $250,000 each for proposals based in Klamath Falls, Sheridan and St. Paul.

Much of the money is going to central and southern Oregon.

Seven of the 17 funded projects are in Bend, Redmond or Prineville, netting a total of $435,000. Two of those would bring solar energy to affordable housing providers.

The grant scoring system gives extra points to projects located in less-populated areas, or places suffering from high unemployment.

There's only one grant awarded in the Portland metro area: a $95,000 award for a solar project.

Copyright 2015 Oregon Public Broadcasting

Rob Manning is a news editor at Oregon Public Broadcasting, with oversight of reporters covering education, healthcare and business. Rob became an editor in 2019, following about 15 years covering schools and universities in Oregon and southwest Washington as OPB’s education reporter.