We are an electrical contracting firm, serving the Columbia River Watershed in both Oregon and Washington States. Our Renewable Energy/Solar Division specializes in on site power generation. Whatever your primary source of power – wind, solar, micro-hydro or methane – Hire Electric can help you put it to use.
Powering Your Future
Begin to make your renewable energy dreams come true with a site analysis from Hire Electric’s Solar Division. We can evaluate the solar and wind potential of your home or business and help put together your best option for taking advantage of the available renewable resources. Our analysis reports offer a detailed description of system components, potential output, available incentives and an installed cost proposal.
Click here to fill out our site analysis request form
What People Are Saying:
“Being on the cutting edge of this technology makes us feel like we are part of the solution – a producer, not just joe consumer. It gives us hope.” G. in Lyle, WA
“This is the best investment we could make at this time. I just can’t wait to expand our system and become totally energy independent. It’s such an empowering feeling” K. in Goldendale, WA
“We wanted to make a difference” W. in Milton Freewater, OR (86 years old)
“Bob Skinner spent hours on a site inspection and went over the contract choices in detail. Since we had the work done in late December, Bob made sure to complete the paperwork for us to turn in for 2007 taxes. When Jonathan Lewis and the work crew showed up they were personable and professional. We thoroughly enjoyed their company for the two days it took. They cleaned up after themselves, labeled equipment, and explained to us how the equipment worked, including the optional computer software and hardware we purchased. I would (and have) recommended them highly. I would hire them again in a heartbeat.” BK in The Dalles, OR
Solar and Renewable Energy in the News:
The largest renewable energy installer in the Northeast, Alteris Renewables, in partnership with SunRun, the nation's largest home solar financing company, is enabling homeowners to cut their electricity costs up to 50% of their current rates with a solar energy system installed for as little as $3,000 down.
First Solar has signed a 300-megawatt (MW) power purchase agreement (PPA) to supply Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) with electricity from a utility-scale solar photovoltaic power facility that First Solar is developing in Southern California.
It's no surprise that professionals working in any renewable energy field are aware of the practical, carbon-saving benefits of installing solar energy in their own homes. For Tony Almond, boss of Planet Energy Solutions, that meant a double dose of solar power – with both solar photovoltaics and solar thermal panels installed at his property in Welwyn, Hertfordshire (UK).
ET Solar Group Corp. ("ET Solar"), a Nanjing-based photovoltaic ("PV") system turnkey solution provider and integrated manufacturer of PV products, announced a 31MW module sales agreement with Umwelt Sonne Energie GmbH ("USE") in Germany.
This week the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) approved Arizona Public Service's (APS) AZ Sun program, bringing the utility another step closer to delivering more solar energy to customers.
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, R.W. Beck, has been awarded a blanket purchase agreement (BPA) by the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Golden Field Office to support The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Biomass Program. The agreement expires September 30, 2015 and has a ceiling value of $21 million.
US Renewables Group (USRG) announced the formation of Westerly Wind LLC, a new company that plans to provide development capital and expertise to wind developers seeking to advance projects in the current difficult financial climate.
Alanod-Solar this week, unveiled a high capacity laser welding facility located in North Ridgeville, Ohio. This facility will manufacture and distribute the company's laser welded Miro-Fin absorber fins for solar thermal collectors.
U.S. Geothermal Inc.has entered into a securities purchase agreement with several institutional investors. According to the terms of the agreement, the company has agreed to issue 8,209,519 shares of Common Stock at a price of US $1.05 per share for gross proceeds of approximately $8.6 million.
New Incentives Update!
FEDERAL INCENTIVES
The BIG news is the Federal 30% Tax Credit with AMT (Adjusted Minimum Tax) exemption for ALL solar and small wind projects. This applies to Commercial and Residential systems. It looks like state rebate and incentive monies are no longer counted as income. In addition, there is also a new vehicle that lets businesses convert the tax credit into a grant. www.dsireusa.org
OREGON INCENTIVES
All of the Oregon incentives are still in place with a small decrease in Energy Trust of Oregon’s Cash Rebate. www.energytrust.org
WASHINGTON INCENTIVES
The legislative session just ended in WA and renewables came out a big winner. We don’t have the full rundown on all the new laws but the sales tax exemption and the performance incentive were both extended to 2020. And the maximum payout for the performance incentive was increased to $5000 per year (of course you’d have to install a 24kw system to get that at $.15/kwh). Unless of course you participate in a Community Project…
WASHINGTON COMMUNITY SOLAR PROJECTS
The legislature added a provision to the performance incentive that allows for community solar projects. The solar array would be hosted by a government entity: school, city hall, library, etc. But it would be owned by individuals, corporations or non profits. Each owner would be eligible to receive $.30/kwh produced by the system up to $5000 each. It gets complicated but basically individual owners should be able to capture a 7% Internal Rate of Return or better on their investment. Seraphim is putting together a workshop for any community group or municipality that might be interested in this option. Please Contact Us for more info.
Recently Hire Electric purchased Seraphim Energy. Seraphim installed 56KW of RE Systems last year!
In the past 12 months Seraphim Energy installed the following projects:
- - 3kw Grid Tied Solar, White Salmon, WA
- - 1.2kw Grid Tied Solar, Pasco, WA
- - 1000w Off-Grid Solar, Goldendale, WA
- - 5.4kw Grid Tied Solar Trackers, Naches, WA (outside Yakima)
- - 2.7kw Grid Tied Solar Tracker w/ Battery Back-Up, Snowden, WA (above White Salmon)
- - 4kw Off Grid UniSolar Thin Film, Joseph, OR
- - 1.8kw Grid Tied Skystream Wind Generator, Hood River, OR
- - 1.8kw Grid Tied Solar, Walla Walla, WA
- - 1.2kw Off-Grid Solar, The Dalles, OR
- - 1.8kw Grid Tied Skystream Wind Generator, High Prairie, WA (above Lyle)
- - 3.5kw Grid Tied Solar, Milton-Freewater, OR
- - 3.2kw Grid Tied Solar, Richland, WA
- - 4.6kw Grid Tied Enphase Solar, Goldendale, WA
- - 1.8kw Grid Tied Skystream Wind Generator, Naches, WA (outside Yakima)
- - 2.4kw Grid Tied Solar Tracker, Goldendale, WA
- - 2.8kw Grid Tied Solar, Kennewick, WA
- - 4.2kw Grid Tied Enphase Solar, College Place, WA (outside Walla Walla)
- - 2kw Grid Tied Solar w/ Battery Back-Up, Goldendale, WA
- - 2.5kw Grid Tied Enphase Solar, Walla Walla, WA
- - In Total: 56.9kw
The Seraphim SolarGram Archives – Coming Soon!
Browse our last two years worth of semi-bimonthly newsletters. If you want to stay tuned on the latest incentives and solar legislation, then you can subscribe for free.
