Oregon has passed the Renewable Energy Cooperative Bill, which allows neighbors to co-invest in clean energy projects without having to go through the expense and complexity of securities registration.
SB 1520 allows people to create and capitalize renewable energy coops without registering the investment as a security. Until now, if people wanted to pool funds to build a local clean energy project, they had to pay legal and accounting fees, which meant many didn’t go forward.
Support for the bill was overwhelming, says Oregonians for Renewable Energy Progress, which shepherded the bill. Letters piled in from local governments across the state and from other supporters.
The bill now goes to Oregon’s Department of Consumer and Business Services for rulemaking. They will decide whether to put limits on the size of community projects and other disclosures required for potential projects.
NY State recently passed an innovative Community Solar program, "K-Solar", which would turn the state’s 5,000 schools into solar demonstration hubs that encourage entire communities to adopt solar.
Community Solar is gaining traction in many states, notably California, Colorado and Minnesota.
Read our article, Community Solar Captures Attention Across US.
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