The bidding ended quickly.
Oregon began accepting applications for solar projects for the first phase of a feed-in tariff program today. Within 15 minutes, the program was full. 75 projects succeeded in winning contracts according to the Statesman Journal and other papers.
The speed in part has to do with the incentives offered in the first round. Solar installers under this phase can get 65 cents a kilowatt hour for power delivered to the grid via solar panels for 15 years. Power in Oregon is comparatively cheap -- running 6 cents to 9 cents per kilowatt hour -- because the state gets 38 percent of its electricity from hydroelectric dams. Winning bidders have to install a new power meter for $10 a month to participate and jump through a few other hoops, but it seems to be worth it.
Another round of bidding is coming up in October.
The state also offers some of the most lucrative incentives to manufacturers for building module facilities.