Solar Energy in Crook County

Prineville Oregon and Crook County located geographically in the center of Oregon.

With developers showing interest in building a solar array and a wind farm preparing to break ground, Crook County is taking big strides into the renewable energy trend. With Crook County in the middle of Central Oregon geting so much sun through out the year, it is no wonder that major Solar developers are coming to explore the options in Crook County.
Could the sun soon shine on a large solar array in Crook County?

If the interest shown by solar energy developers of late is any indication, then the answer may be yes.

"We've been getting exploratory `tire-kickers,'" said Crook County Planning Director Bill Zelenka. "Some people call up and ask about what our ordinance is and how to do it, but they don't tell you anything."

Nothing is definitive yet, but Zelenka says the planning department has received at least four inquiries in the past few months.

One large company - which Zelenka declined to name - expressed its desire to build a 45-acre solar array.

Crook County, along with every other county in the state, however, does not have an ordinance outlining the requirements for solar energy developers. The Crook County Planning Commission will hold its first public hearing on the issue Wednesday.

"(The ordinance) will develop some standards, some approval criteria, conditions and those kinds of things," Zelenka said.

In counties where solar energy projects have been approved - including a soon-to-be-built array in Christmas Valley - companies were granted a conditional-use permit. This was the method used to site the West Butte Wind Power project in Crook County last year.

According to Zelenka, renewable energy projects that have a capacity of 104 megawatts or less are sited by local governments. Anything above 104 megawatts, however, is sited by the state.

Paul Israel, president of Bend-based Sunlight Solar Energy, Inc., shed some light on why solar companies would be interested in Crook County.

"Central Oregon gets some of the best solar energy in the state," he said. "It has more sunshine hitting the Earth than anything on the other side of the bump (The Cascades)."

For example, if a person were to install 1,000 watts of solar panels in Central Oregon and the same amount in the Willamette Valley, the ones in Central Oregon and Crook County would actually produce more energy because the region boasts the best levels of solar radiation in the state, Israel explained.

"First of all, you're going to harvest more energy in crok County and Central Oregon, so ergo, your economics are going to be better," he said. "Plus, we have a lot of power lines running through Central Oregon - some of the main power lines for the state. It makes it easier to interconnect."

In addition, the moderate climate keeps solar panels from overheating. Heat degrades the flow of electricity, Isreal says.

"If you have a place that's clean, cool and crisp, then Central Oregon is great," he said. Anyone familiar with Crook County and Central Oregon knows our climate is just that!