June 2026 Newsletter
All Funds Quickly Reserved for Solar + Storage Rebates
Last month, the Oregon Department of Energy announced it would reopen applications on June 15 for $1.1 million in available funding for the Oregon Solar + Storage Rebate Program. Upon reopening, all available funding was reserved by program contractors within minutes and ODOE is no longer accepting applications.
The program, which provides rebates to homeowners and to organizations that serve Oregonians with low incomes, first launched in January 2020 but has been out of funding since mid-2024. Following administrative savings and canceled or incomplete rebate projects from prior rounds, the agency had $1.1 million left in program funding to reserve and issue rebates for new projects. Half of the funding is reserved for homeowners with low to moderate incomes and low-income service providers – such as nonprofits, municipalities, or other organizations serving low-income Oregonians.
ODOE’s incentives team is now reviewing submitted applications to ensure completeness and eligibility.
The Oregon Solar + Storage Rebate Program was created by the Oregon Legislature in 2019. To date, the program has made funding commitments to more than 6,900 projects, representing over $23.5 million in rebates. Those rebates leveraged $274 million in total project costs – projects that produce up to 88.5 gigawatt hours in annual solar production. In 2022, the program received a national State Leadership in Clean Energy award from the Clean Energy States Alliance.
ODOE Now Accepting Applications for Building Performance Standard Incentive
ODOE is now accepting applications for a second round of Building Energy Reduction Incentive Program funding. This voluntary, early compliance incentive program encourages building owners to meet Oregon Building Performance Standard compliance requirements ahead of schedule.
In 2023, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 3409, establishing a Building Performance Standard for commercial buildings. The bill requires covered commercial buildings to enhance energy management practices and implement efficiency measures to meet energy use targets. While the earliest compliance date for certain buildings is 2028, this program will support early compliance actions.
Oregon’s Building Performance Standard sorts eligible buildings into Tier 1 and Tier 2 buildings. The Building Energy Reduction Incentive Program’s second round of funding will offer about $7.7 million in incentives for Tier 1 buildings, $3 million for Tier 2 buildings, and $900,000 in incentives for Tribal buildings. To ensure that funding is available to as many building owners as possible, maximum incentive amounts are capped at $100,000 for Tier 1 buildings and $50,000 for Tier 2 buildings.
Incentives must be used for energy efficiency measures, such as heating, ventilation, and cooling or lighting, that reduce the energy use intensity and greenhouse gas emissions of buildings. Applications will be reviewed by ODOE on a first-come, first-served basis until all funds are awarded or until the application closes at 5 p.m. December 11, 2026.
As we shared in last month’s newsletter, ODOE also opened applications for a second Building Performance Standard incentive, the Early Compliance Action and Planning Program. Awarded incentives will help building owners offset costs associated with compliance, such as energy benchmarking and reporting or performing an energy audit. Applications are due July 10, 2026.
Weigh in on ODOE's Draft Report on Siting and Permitting Large-Scale Electricity Infrastructure
The Oregon Energy Strategy identified five pathways that together represent the direction Oregon needs to take to meet its energy policy objectives – including an energy transition that will deliver clean, reliable, and affordable energy to all Oregonians. The five pathways are: (1) Energy Efficiency, (2) Clean Electricity, (3) Electrification, (4) Low-Carbon Fuels, and (5) Resilience.
The Clean Electricity pathway highlights the need to increase transmission capacity to access out-of-state generation resources as well as the potential benefits of deploying more clean energy generation within the state. The Energy Strategy calls for the state to facilitate energy infrastructure enhancement and expansion while avoiding, minimizing, and mitigating negative impacts on Tribal trust resources, energy burden, natural and working lands, cultural resources, and communities (Clean Electricity Policy 2a).
Following the Oregon Energy Strategy’s publication and Governor Kotek’s Executive Order 25-29, ODOE is developing a report on Siting and Permitting Large-Scale Electricity Infrastructure, including potential streamlining opportunities for the public energy facility siting process. ODOE now has a draft report available that describes how the siting program is designed to avoid, minimize, and mitigate the negative impacts of large-scale energy projects and be inclusive of Tribal governments, state agencies, local governments and members of the public. It then describes how the siting program is structured to annually identify streamlining opportunities through rulemaking and specifically identified process improvement projects. Finally, it provides numerous streamlining efforts that have already occurred and provides further streamlining opportunities to evaluate in the near term.
ODOE is now seeking comments on the draft version of the report. Written comments are due by 5 p.m. on July 24, 2026 and may be submitted online.
As we mentioned in our May newsletter, ODOE is also working on other implementation efforts, including a draft Report on Reducing Barriers to Clean Energy Deployment, which was released on May 28 and has a comment due date of July 2, 2026.
Draft Goal Setting for Natural and Working Lands Report Seeks Comments by July 2
The Oregon Department of Energy and the Oregon Climate Action Commission announced on June 8 that we are seeking public comments on a draft Natural and Working Lands Goal Setting report.
Natural climate solutions are activities that enhance or protect net biological carbon sequestration on natural and working lands, while maintaining or increasing ecosystem resilience and human well-being. They are carbon removal strategies that can be taken immediately to remove carbon from the atmosphere and help Oregonians adapt to the impacts of a changing climate.
ORS 468A.193 directed ODOE and the Oregon Climate Action Commission, in coordination with the land managing agencies, to establish a non-binding net sequestration and storage goal for Oregon’s natural and working lands and update those goals as new information becomes available. In this draft report, ODOE presents three goal options for the Commission’s consideration. The goal that will be established, while voluntary, will provide a guidepost for considering land management as part of climate action.
ODOE welcomes comments on the draft Goal Setting for Natural and Working Lands Report by 5 p.m. on July 2, 2026. In particular, the Commission and ODOE would like to know:
What questions do you have/clarification would help you better understand the goal options?
How should the Commission and ODOE weigh the characteristics of a good goal in their decision?
What actions should the Commission or ODOE, in their respective roles, take to support next steps to achieve the goal?
Specifically for the Commission, what policy and capacity needs are important to help achieve the goal?
Please submit your comments to OCAC@energy.oregon.gov.
Grounded Podcast: Pillars for ODOE's Future
In April, ODOE released a new strategic plan, reaffirming our mission and setting our priorities over the next four years with actionable steps.
Building on our first strategic plan (2021-2025), the new edition identifies areas where ODOE can add value in the energy sphere and for Oregonians, whether that’s advancing the Energy Strategy, producing energy resources for residents, or bringing clarity to the Energy Facility Siting Council process, for example. This plan leans on ODOE’s role to convene groups with a wide range of perspectives, deliver services and programs, and serve as a centralized repository of energy information as technology evolves.
In the latest episode of Grounded, host Katelyn Jackson is joined by ODOE Director Janine Benner and Associate Director for Strategic Engagement Ruchi Sadhir. They walk us through the plan, sharing their hopes of how it will strengthen the agency’s efficiency and effectiveness as we work as a cohesive unit to address our greatest energy challenges.
Give it a listen on our blog or your favorite podcast app.
Save the Date! ODOE Public Budget Meeting July 15
As we reach the half-way mark for our 2025-2027 biennial budget, the Oregon Department of Energy is already working on its Agency Request Budget for the 2027-2029 biennium.
ODOE will hold a public budget meeting online on Wednesday, July 15, 2026 at 3 p.m. to review the request budget that we'll submit to the Governor's office this summer. More information, including log-in details, will be available on our budget webpage ahead of the meeting. There, you can also learn more about the budget process, how we're funded, and our past budget history. You can also sign up to receive email updates.
Reports from Around the Agency
Join our team! ODOE is currently recruiting for a Siting Compliance Officer (Utility and Energy Analyst 2) and an Incentives Analyst (Program Analyst 2). Learn more and please share with your networks.
Summer is officially here, and so is the heat! Energy efficient heat pumps are a great solution for heating and cooling your home, and ODOE has resources available to help. Check out our heat pump incentive programs.
ODOE was proud to sponsor the 2026 Warm Springs Community Energy Fair, which featured current and future energy activities of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, and focused on benefits and opportunities for the Warm Springs community. Community Navigator Sarah Moehrke hosted an information table about ODOE programs at the event, and Assistant Director for Energy Facility Siting Todd Cornett joined to share more about Oregon's public energy facility siting process.
Director Janine Benner, Facilities Engineer Stephanie Kruse, Technology and Policy Manager Jessica Reichers, and Government Relations Coordinator Christy Splitt were hosted by Pacific Power for a tour of the Lewis River dams in SW Washington. These dams provide most of the power serving Pacific Power's Portland customers. The ODOE team learned about everything from how the dams are used to provide demand response capabilities to how the company works with the community during extreme weather events. The highlight, though, had to be taking part in identifying fish and shepherding them upriver.
ODOE Building Performance Standard team members Lisa Gartland, Ken Davies, and Madeline O’Dwyer joined Energy Trust of Oregon’s Building Lighting Trade Ally seminars this month. The seminars were held in Medford, Bend, and Portland and offered an opportunity for ODOE’s team to spread the word about the OR BPS program to more than 120 Oregon lighting professionals, and let them know how they can proactively support the program with lighting retrofits in existing buildings.
ODOE Director Janine Benner attended the 2026 Western Regional Meeting of the National Association of State Energy Officials, alongside Technology and Policy Manager Jessica Reichers. NASEO is an important partner to ODOE and the regional meetings provide a venue for state energy officials to discuss regional actions and issues around energy. Janine also serves as a Regional Representative on the NASEO Board of Directors.
In addition to new rounds of Building Performance Standard incentives, ODOE has launched a new BPS compliance portal software, the Building Energy Analysis Manager. BEAM provides an easy-to-navigate interface for building owners, including checklists and graphical displays on compliance progress. It will serve as a central place for building owners to ask and find answers to their questions, access resources, submit compliance forms, and for ODOE to track and manage compliance status across the inventory of covered buildings. Learn more.
On June 24, ODOE staff hosted an information table at the 2026 Oregon Pupil Transportation Association (OPTA) Conference to share information about ODOE's programs that support public schools. The conference is focused on school transportation topics around staffing drivers, new school bus technologies, electric school buses, maintenance issues, and funding opportunities.
On June 27, ODOE staff were pleased to host an information table at Electrify Portland's Home Electrification Fair. The free event offered information for homeowners and renters ready to start transitioning to efficient electricity for their energy needs.
Did you know ODOE's Energy Facility Siting Team is currently reviewing more than a dozen proposed or amended energy facilities? From wind to solar facilities – to combined wind, solar, and storage facilities – you can learn more about the state's process and how to get involved on our website. You can also sign up to receive a monthly facility siting update showing the latest and greatest.
LOOKING AHEAD
Public Budget Meeting | July 15, 2026 | Via Webinar
Oregon Climate Action Commission | July 17, 2026 | Via Webinar
Energy Facility Siting Council | July 24, 2026 | Salem and Via Webinar
Current Rulemakings (click to see details)
Other Stakeholder Groups (click to see details)
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