Clouds Can’t Hold Back Portland’s Solar Expansion
By John Gartner. Reprinted with permission from Matter Network
Portland – On an unusually warm and sunny April Sunday, Portland Mayor Sam Adams accepted a Solar America Cities Award from the Department of Energy and pledged to greatly expand the amount of solar power in the city. Portland was one of 25 cities to have earned the Solar City award in 2007-8 which included a matching grant of $200,000 to be used for outreach to consumers about the viability of solar in the often cloudy Northwest, and to work with private companies to produce and sell solar panels. Though the 2009 award, which was handed out at the National League of Cities Green Cities Conference does not guarantee another DOE grant, city officials are hopeful that a similar amount will be made available after the department’s budget is finalized in the next few months.
Mayor Adams, who took office in January, set a goal for the city of expanding the installed solar in the city from the current 2 megawatts to 5 megawatts by 2012, and hopes that the actual number will be around 10 megawatts. Adams said that after factoring in federal and state incentives in Oregon, solar is “getting dangerously to being at a commensurate price for grid power.”
The city is developing co-marketing opportunities with contractors, roofing companies and building inspectors to communicate to consumers that installing a new roof “is an ideal time for installing solar.” The city will also include marketing materials about solar to consumers in communications from the city-operated water and sewer utilities.
“Portland will communicate to residents that despite the weather, installing solar is a viable option.”
With 222 cloudy days a year, solar power in Portland seems marginal at best, a joke at worst.
I guess Seattle would be even worse - this is just another fool politician chattering while pissing away public funds. I suppose he will get invited to all the green parties though.
Portland would be far better off to place the panels East of the Cascade mountains if nothing else.
I lived there for many years - forget seeing the sun from late December until June except on rare occasions. In about 63 there were 30 straight days of sunshine in April & May - everyone thought the world was coming to an end!