"TriMet says downtown Portland solar panel project is fully operational, explains financing further"

By Joseph Rose, The Oregonian

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After more than two months of construction – and trying to explain how it will be paid off -- TriMet has turned on the solar project at the South Terminus of the MAX Green and Yellow lines.

Located near Portland State University, it’s the largest solar project in downtown Portland and a first for the MAX light rail system. TriMet said the installation will produce about 65,000 kilowatt hours of energy annually from the stylishly curved array of 253 panels, offsetting energy used by lighting and two light-rail electrical system stations.

“The excess energy produced will add clean energy to the Portland General Electric grid,” said TriMet spokeswoman Mary Fetsch. “The total energy produced is equivalent to reducing 29 tons of carbon dioxide per year.”

In November, when the transit agency began installing panels made by Hillsboro-based SolarWorld, officials had a difficult time explaining how the system would benefit TriMet's  shaky bottom line.

At the time, TriMet said that construction of the solar station would cost $370,600, but would decrease TriMet's energy costs by just $3,680 a year. An Energy Trust of Oregon rebate and a Portland General Electric green-energy grant, TriMet officials said, would cover $133,200 of the solar station's cost, TriMet said.

So, it appeared that the project would take about 65 years – at current rates – to pay off the 52-mile MAX system's first experiment with solar power. Bob Hastings, the TriMet architect in charge of the solar-power structure, said the equation is more complicated. The agency, he said, was being more optimistic about its rate of return. "It will be more like 22.3 years," he said.

Since then, the agency has said it handled the roll-out of the project poorly. Officials said they should have waited a bit longer to discuss the project's financing.

“The numbers changed when we started installation due to the fact that we were still in the midst of negotiating the deals,” Fetsch said. “Our contribution toward the $366,000 installation is $4,936, and we will recoup our investment in a little over a year with annual energy credits. The first year we will have energy credit of $4,800, and expect larger energy credits in the future as energy prices rise.”

On Tuesday, TriMet sent out a Solar Panel Project Fact Sheet explaining the financing formula and architectural decisions.

The public can also monitor the project's energy production online 24/7/365.