OAR 123-093-0700
Payment and Requirements
(1)
Payment(a)
Incentive structure. The SDI program offers a flat cents-per-kWh payment for all output from an Enrolled Project for up to five years. Subject to the terms and conditions of the program enrollment contract, the Department will make monthly payments to an Enrolled Project of $0.005/kWh of electricity generated by the Enrolled Project during the preceding month. Payments shall continue for up to five years after the date on which the Department makes the initial payment to the Program Enrollee for energy generated by the Enrolled Project.(b)
Program enrollment. Enrollees will be required to sign a program enrollment contract detailing the conditions of enrolling their project in the SDI program and accepting SDI payments. Once all contracts and related materials have been received, Enrolled projects will be given an Enrollment Date, which will serve as the earliest date from which production data can be submitted for the incentive payment to the SDI Payee.(c)
Enrollment date. Enrollment date is determined to be January 2, 2017 (the SDI application closing date).(d)
Production demonstration. Enrolled projects will be required to demonstrate (via e.g. meter data or monthly utility purchase statements) the amount of electricity that is produced by the system on a monthly basis by submitting production data to the Department by the 15th day after the end of the previous month or as otherwise arranged and agreed upon with the Department. Enrollees who provide production demonstration data after the agreed upon date may experience a delay in payment.(e)
Payment. The Department will disburse to SDI Payees SDI payments of $0.005/kWh of demonstrated production of solar energy generated during the preceding month(s). Payments will only be made in accordance with and subject to the terms and conditions of the program enrollment contract.(f)
Automated Clearing House (ACH) payment. The Department will issue direct deposit payment via ACH only. Program Enrollees will be required to complete necessary forms and approvals to facilitate ACH payments.(g)
Incentive reductions. Enrolled projects that are unable to begin generating electricity within one year of their Enrollment Date will have a reduction in the total number of months that they are eligible to receive payments. Beginning one year after an Enrolled Project’s Enrollment Date, for each month that the Enrolled project does not generate electricity, the Department shall reduce, by one month, the number of monthly payments otherwise required to be paid to the SDI project Enrollee. For example, an Enrollee can receive 60 months of incentive payments for its Enrolled Project if the project is generating electricity by January 2, 2018 (i.e. within 12 months of the latest possible project Enrollment Date). If instead, the project does not begin to generate electricity until 18 months after the Enrollment Date, the project will only receive 54 months of incentive payments (60 months – 6 months when the project was not generating electricity past the 12-month timeframe = 54 months of incentive payments).(h)
Project removal. Projects that fail to perform, have a change in scope such that they become disqualified, or become ineligible, may be removed from the SDI program. Owners of Enrolled Projects that are removed from the SDI program will be assigned an ineligibility date by the Department, after which they will not receive any payments otherwise required to be paid to the Enrolled Project Owner for said removed Enrolled Project. Projects removed from the SDI program may have their program capacity released and reassigned to eligible projects according to their assignment in the SDI queue. Projects can be removed from the SDI program because of, but not limited to, the following scenarios:(A)
If by two years after the Enrolled Project’s Enrollment Date the Enrolled Project is not interconnected, Commercially Operational, and generating electricity, the Department will remove the Solar PV Energy System from the SDI program.(B)
An Enrolled Project may become unqualified if, after enrollment, the scope of the project changes such that the project no longer meets the project qualifications. The Department will remove unqualified solar PV projects from the SDI program.(C)
Enrolled projects that fail to comply with the obligations in the enrollment contract may be removed from the SDI program.(D)
Enrolled projects that fail to meet reporting obligations may be removed from the SDI program.(E)
Enrolled projects that make, or are discovered to have made, material misrepresentations regarding their Enrolled Project(s) will be removed from the SDI program.(F)
An Enrolled Project may become ineligible (even if it remains qualified) if, after enrollment, there is a change in a relationship between the owner or operator of the project and other businesses owning or operating Enrolled Projects. If, as a result of such change, Enrolled Projects’ eligibility is jeopardized, the Department may remove projects from the SDI Program. Before removing a project from the SDI Program, the Department will consult with the owners and operators of all Enrolled Projects whose eligibility has been jeopardized by the change in relationships among owners and operators of Enrolled Projects.(2)
Capacity Factor. SDI program budget was projected based on an average project Capacity Factor of 25 percent. If Enrolled Projects consistently achieve actual Capacity Factors higher than what was used for projecting the budget, the Department will cap total incentive payments so that they do not exceed the program budget, and will distribute incentives based on actual monthly production to Enrolled Projects that produce electricity on a first come first serve basis, until the cap has been reached.
Source:
Rule 123-093-0700 — Payment and Requirements, https://secure.sos.state.or.us/oard/view.action?ruleNumber=123-093-0700.