Wednesday, November 04, 2009

Winds of Change in Oregon   [Greg Pollowitz]

Reader A.F. sends a follow up to this post on out of control alternative-energy spending in Oregogn. The Oregonian:

Oregon energy officials released new rules Tuesday aimed at curbing a controversial state program that grants lucrative tax subsidies for wind, solar and other renewable power plants.

The changes are intended to rein in some of the runaway costs of the program by making it harder for one project to qualify for multiple tax credits and by giving the Oregon Department of Energy greater leeway to deny an application.

The new rules also allow the state to withdraw the subsidy to a company that doesn't produce the amount of energy, conservation or jobs it promised in its application. The rules become effective immediately but don't apply to businesses that have already qualified for the tax credits.

"We took this action because we wanted to preserve the program but also to make sure we were reducing the fast growth in the program and reducing its impact on the general fund," said Energy Department Director Mark Long.

The announcement of the new rules comes on the heels of an investigation by The Oregonian that showed state officials lowballed the cost of the Business Energy Tax Credit program before asking the Legislature to boost the size of the subsidies. The investigation also showed little oversight or accountability in the way the credits have been handed out.

11/04 01:00 PMShare