Solarize Hood River County

Solarize Hood River County

Haga clic aquí para visitar la página web de «Más energía solar en el condado de Hood River» en español. 

Photo provided by Scott Sorensen.

Thanks for participating in Solarize Hood River County!

The Solarize Hood River County campaign ran from September 6 – October 31, 2022. Over 100 households signed up for a free custom bid during the campaign. If you are interested in learning more about solar energy and battery storage, check out the campaign videos below.

Although the campaign is no longer running, households can still be connected with an Energy Trust of Oregon trade ally contractor to request a free custom bid by visiting the following website: Energy Trust of Oregon Solar Bid.

What are the benefits of solar and battery storage?

Installing solar helps you save money on your monthly electric bill. Adding home battery storage to solar allows you to power your home with solar AND save any extra solar power in the battery to use during a power outage when you really need it. These systems use clean energy and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Clean and resilient renewable energy helps to build community-wide prosperity, one household at a time.

solar panels on roof

Foto ofrecida por Scott Sorensen.

Learn more about Hood River County Solarize, solar energy, and solar+storage, and financial incentives by watching the Solarize Hood River workshop videos below.

Introduction
Campaign overview
Solar basics
What makes a home good for solar?
Battery storage

Incentives

Signup and installation

Who was involved in Solarize Hood River County?

The Hood River County Solarize campaign was a community effort that was supported by the following organizations:

Hood River County’s Solarize campaign made efforts to increase access to solar for all residents and provided resources in both English and Spanish. The campaign also worked to reach people with low or moderate income to help them learn about higher income-qualified incentives like Energy Trust of Oregon’s Solar Within Reach and the Oregon Solar+Storage rebate.

Contact MCEDD Energy & Project Manager Lindsay McClure at lindsay@mcedd.org with any questions.

Solarize Hood River County Bring Solar Education and Installation Opportunities to the Region

Solarize Hood River County Bring Solar Education and Installation Opportunities to the Region

The Energy Council collaborated with Energy Trust of Oregon, Solar Oregon, and The Next Door Inc. to host a Solarize campaign in the fall of 2022. The two-month campaign supported homeowners who were interested in installing solar or solar+storage by providing educational workshops and the opportunity to sign up for installation with a pre-vetted contractor. Campaign materials and workshops were offered in both English and Spanish. During the campaign, over 60 people attended workshops and over 100 households requested custom solar or solar+storage bids. The campaign’s solar contractors continue to work with households on contracting for installations. We anticipate being able to share the number of households that moved forward with contracts at a later date. 

Learn more about Solarize Hood River County by reading the article below, which originally appeared in the September 14, 2022, issue of the Columbia Gorge News.  

“Solarize Hood River Campaign Brings Affordable Solar Power to the County”

Hood River County School District Explores Electric School Buses

Hood River County School District Explores Electric School Buses

The Energy Council supported a proposal, led by New Buildings Institute, for a project that looks to use electric school buses and other electric fleet vehicles (to be leased as part of the project), as battery backup to power a solar+storage microgrid at Wy’east Middle School during long-term power outages. The goal is to create a pilot program that can act as a nationally replicable model for use of vehicle-to-building technology in resiliency situations.

The proposal was submitted to the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Awards are expected to be announced in February or March of 2023.  

Learn more about this proposal and the project partners by reading the article below, from the November 16, 2022, issue of the Columbia Gorge News. 

 “District Explores Electric Buses”