The Environmental Center

Power Hour | Homegrown Renewables: Community Solar
2022-05-10 | Deschutes Brewery Public House, 1044 NW Bond St, Bend, OR, 97701, United States
This year for Earth Month (and beyond), we’d love to see our community take action in a multitude of ways to secure a healthy climate future. A super easy and convenient way to take action is to sign up to get your electricity from renewable solar energy that is produced right here in Oregon through Oregon’s Community Solar Program. We’ve put together this event so that you can learn about the program and find out how you can sign up for the program.
Oregon’s Community Solar Program has projects coming online this year for Pacific Power customers! Community solar allows subscribers to benefit from solar without installing panels on their own roof. Individuals, businesses, and organizations can subscribe to a central, off-site project and receive the energy benefits for their portion of the project on their current Pacific Power bill*.
This opportunity allows households that have traditionally been underserved by solar energy such as renters and those who live in multifamily residences to invest in clean, renewable energy without barriers such as not owning your home, high up-front costs, or having a shady roof. The added bonus is that you will pay less for the renewable energy than your current electricity rates! Additionally, income-eligible households can save up to 40% off the cost of their electricity.
Come learn more about Oregon’s Community Solar Program! You will see where projects are being built in Oregon and how to subscribe!
Right now, through Sunday, May 15th, Oregon Shines will donate $25 to TEC for each community solar subscription. It’s a win-win for our community!
*If you are a CEC customer learn more about their programs here.
Meet our speaker
Carly Sellers is a Program Manager at Oregon Shines. She manages and develops programs that are designed to connect Oregonians with sustainable energy options while also providing resources and education on the importance of clean energy for a sustainable future. Our mission is to educate individuals, businesses, and municipalities on the benefits of Community Solar so that they are empowered to take part in creating a more sustainable future.
Register for the in-person event
Register to attend virtually

Power Hour | Homegrown Renewables: Woody Biomass
2022-05-19
Central Oregon can and should be a leader in the local generation of renewable energy. We have rich resources to explore here in our backyard. As the community embarks on discussions around creating an energy plan for Deschutes County and as the City of Bend explores local generation opportunities to meet renewable energy goals laid out in the Community Climate Action Plan, now is the time for us to come together and learn about the resources that are available in our community. This series will explore homegrown opportunities to produce renewable energy.
We will kick off this event by learning about Oregon’s new green tariff program and how it could help us meet local renewable energy goals, then we’ll explore the City of Prineville’s proposed 24 MW woody biomass energy generation project and hear about resources to get biomass projects started and learn about other ways to utilize woody biomass. We have a lot to cover but don’t worry, we will give you plenty of time for Q&A with our expert panel!
These events are meant to be exploratory and not necessarily answer which sources of energy are the best for each community. Rather, we want to see communities engage in robust dialogue about what is available so that when it comes to making energy plans, we all have some foundational knowledge to work from.
Agenda
5:00 – 5:30 – In-person event: Doors open, grab a beer/drink, find a seat
5:30-7:00 – Virtual and In-person event: Presentation and panel discussion

Register for the in-person event
Register to attend virtually
Meet our Speakers and Panelists
Eric Klann, City Engineer and Public Works Director, City of Prineville. Eric has become known for his commitment to bettering the Prineville community through the forward-thinking projects which have been completed under his leadership including the award-winning Crooked River Wetlands Complex and the Aquifer Storage and Recovery Project. Due to these types of pioneering projects, the City of Prineville is well-positioned to accommodate significant economic development and residential growth for decades to come. In addition to his role as City Engineer, Eric leads a team of fifteen people in the Public Works Department. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, a P.E. in Civil Engineering, and spent seven years as a sawmill Engineering/Maintenance Manager prior to his now 14-year tenure with the City of Prineville.
Joshua Reed, Project Manager – Renewables, Energy Trust of Oregon. Energy Trust is an independent nonprofit established to administer the public purpose charge funds from Oregon’s investor-owned utilities and help deliver clean, affordable energy to those utilities’ ratepayers. He works with the “Other Renewables” team, which supports the development and installation of non-solar renewable energy projects. They provide incentives for qualified hydropower, biopower (biogas/biomass), geothermal electricity, and municipal-owned community wind power projects.
Dylan Kruse, Vice President, Sustainable Northwest. Dylan is responsible for state and federal legislative activity and agency engagement and represents Sustainable Northwest’s broad market and public policy priorities. He is also coordinator of the Western Juniper Alliance, a 50-member partnership to accomplish rangeland restoration, produce sustainable wood products, and create jobs in juniper supply and market chains along the West Coast. In addition, he is the organization’s bioenergy lead and works on wood biomass utilization and energy projects across the Northwest. Dylan serves on the board of the Biomass Thermal Energy Council, holds a seat on the steering committee of the National Rural Assembly, and sits on the Leadership Team of the Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition. Before joining Sustainable Northwest, he attended Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR, and received a B.A. in International Affairs.
Meagan Hartman, VP & Director of Business Development, Wisewood Energy. Meagan came upon wood energy at the confluence of her interests nearly a decade ago. After cutting her teeth on all aspects of biomass projects, origination through operations, Meagan now leads business development across the American West for Wisewood. Wisewood Energy outfits communities, businesses, and industrial partners with biomass energy systems that strengthen local economies, lower heating costs, and promote environmental stewardship.

Register for the in-person event
Register to attend virtually

Power Hour | Homegrown Renewables: Micro Hydro
2022-06-30
The City of Bend’s Community Climate Action Plan (CCAP) calls for Bend to transition to 100% renewable energy by 2025. In the OR 2021 legislative session, HB 2021, also known as the 100% Clean For All bill, passed which will allow communities to buy renewable energy from Pacific Power or PGE through a special rate structure and a long-term contract. Come learn what this means for meeting our renewable energy goals and you can help support this work.
Central Oregon can and should be a leader in the local generation of renewable energy. We have rich resources to explore here in our backyard. As the community embarks on discussions around creating an energy plan for Deschutes County and as the City of Bend explores local generation opportunities to meet renewable energy goals laid out in the Community Climate Action Plan, now is the time for us to come together and learn about the resources that are available in our community. This series will explore homegrown opportunities to produce renewable energy right here in Deschutes County and beyond.
We will kick off this event by learning about irrigation modernization with three local irrigation districts. These projects not only save water, they save energy and make renewable energy production a possibility for irrigation districts and rural communities. We’ll learn about modernization progress and renewable energy generation to date (spoiler: they are already producing A LOT of energy and more could be in the works) and what that could mean for our local energy and resiliency goals.
These events are meant to be exploratory and not necessarily answer which sources of energy are the best for each community. Rather, we want to see communities engage in robust dialogue about what is available so that when it comes to making energy plans, we all have some foundational knowledge to work from.

Register for the tour
Meet our speakers
Jer Camarata, General Manager, Swalley Irrigation District. Jer holds two degrees in Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, a BLA and MLA with honors — regional resource planning, GIS and database, and land use were his acedemic focus. Jer has over twenty years experience in the water resource industry and has led two irrigation districts in Oregon — Swalley ID, Bend and Farmers ID, Hood River — taking responsibility for large-scale irrigation and hydropower infrastructure assets.
At Swalley, Jer strives to achieve environmentally and economically sustainable energy and irrigation service for the common good. As Swalley’s executive officer, he has charge of the staff, oversees field and office operations, proposes and manages budgets, spearheads strategic planning efforts, implements large-scale capital improvement projects, and is responsible for implementing and interpreting policy as well as engaging in and executing District negotiations, contracts, and agreements.
Marc Thalacker, Manager, Three Sisters Irrigation District.
Marc has been the manager of Three Sisters Irrigation District since 1997. As a farmer in Central Oregon since 1988 he has firsthand experience in the needs of irrigators. At the beginning of his irrigation management career Marc saw the writing on the wall and started pre-emptive measures to restore water to the creek while maintaining, and improving, water distribution to TSID patrons.
Over the last 25 years TSID has piped the district with HDPE pipe and installed the 700 kW Watson Hydroelectric facility, which generated close to 3 MW in 2016. The 200 kW Micro-Hydro Demonstration Project was installed in 2018. The current project is a 300 kW McKenzie Hydroelectric facility which will be completed in 2022.
Marc has been recognized for his work in conservation by various agencies and lauded by TSID patrons for his work in improving irrigation water distribution. His ultimate goal is to make TSID carbon neutral. Marc serves on several boards including Oregon Water Resources Congress and Family Farm Alliance and is actively involved in water and energy legislation.
Doug Watson, Director of Hydro, Central Oregon Irrigation District. Doug is a Central Oregon native that recently parted ways with the United States Navy to pursue his career and opportunities within the Hydro community. He has a degree in renewable energy from Northwest Renewable Energy Institute. More geared towards wind/solar until introduced to hydroelectric generation to which he saw a better way to benefit and impact his community. He works continuously to keep both of COID’s Powerhouse facilities running at peak performance. Upholding the highest of standards for his facilities through FERC license and keeping Siphon Power project with LEHI certification. He manages all aspects from the business side of operations to maintenance. Doug also took on the roll of modernizing and upgrading the COID irrigation system via remote operations and controls giving water management features to piping projects and paving the way for the future operations.

Register for the tour
Learn more about renewable energy goals in Central Oregon, the new green tariff program, and how you can support these efforts
Wednesday, June 29th, 5:00-7:00 @ The Environmental Center or tune in virtually.

Register

Power Hour | Creating an Energy Plan for Deschutes County
2022-07-21
This will be a hybrid event. If you would like to attend the event virtually via a livestream, sign up for the here and you will get the livestream details the day before the event.
This past year The Environmental Center, in collaboration with Sustainable Northwest, has hosted a Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) AmeriCorps member, Grace Andrews. Grace has been researching best practices for rural energy planning and leading the development of a toolkit to help communities create baseline energy inventories along with a group of OSU-Cascades interns. Come learn about her work and how it will shape conversations about the future of energy in Deschutes County.
Meet our speaker
Grace Andrews, Energy Program Coordinator, The Environmental Center. Grace is an AmeriCorps member with Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE), a program that increases capacity for communities across Oregon to tackle community-based projects. She recently graduated from Colby College with a B.A. in Environmental Science, where she enjoyed working with the writing center and the outdoor orientation program for first year students. She is excited to be in Central Oregon and explore the beauty it has to offer. You can find her hiking, paddling a canoe or kayak, skiing downhill or XC, or on a rainy day, curled up with a cup of tea and a good book.
Register for Power Hour
