With federal and state tax incentives available, the proposed $1.8 million solar power structure on top of Bend’s downtown parking garage could be the catalyst that spurs the region’s renewable energy development, government and business officials say.

Executives from Bend-based SunEnergy Power Corp., the company proposing the project, said they moved the nonprofit firm from the San Diego area partly to take advantage of the Business Energy Tax Credits provided by the Oregon Department of Energy.

With the state incentives and tax credits offered by the federal government, SunEnergy plans to build the project using investors’ funding, then returning those tax credits to the investors. The city of Bend would pay only for the energy generated by the solar cells, not construction or maintenance costs.

”(The incentives) are absolutely necessary,” said Doug Parsons, SunEnergy’s CEO. ”The model wouldn’t work without them. There has to be some financial benefit to the investors, not just green benefits. But by participating, investors are helping the building of renewable energy sources around the world.”

SunEnergy is actively involved in solar energy projects in Southeast Asia, Africa and South America.

The solar panels on top of the garage are projected to generate more than 280,000 kilowatts of electricity every year, about 55 percent of the parking structure’s expected annual payload. Officials estimate that the same amount of electricity generated at a coal-fired power plant would produce 170 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year.

Bend City Councilor Jim Clinton, who has worked with solar energy technology since the 1970s, said the council is waiting to hear back from SunEnergy about safety, aesthetics and the company’s capability to build and operate the solar panels.

Barring any problems, however, Clinton expects the project to advance.

”If all those pieces fall into place, I would support it,” he said. ”And my guess is that the majority of council members would see the benefits (of the project) to the city. It’s harder to find something wrong with it.”

Under SunEnergy’s business plan, investors would get a net annual return of about 4 percent to 8 percent from either directly using the state tax credits or selling them to other businesses with large tax liabilities. The federal tax credits, worth about 30 percent of the project cost, are nontransferable.

Parsons said they have already identified a number of investors interested in the parking garage solar plant, and many other building owners in Bend have expressed interest in installing solar panels.

”Everyone’s commenting on how aesthetic (the proposed solar structure) is,” he said, adding that the panels also provide shade for the garage’s top floor.

While SunEnergy’s business model is unique in using tax credits as its centerpiece, the com-pany isn’t alone in taking advantage of Oregon’s energy incentives.

More than 1,200 parties have applied for the Business Energy Tax Credits this year, according to Oregon Department of Energy spokeswoman Ann Grim.

In Bend, stores like shoe retailer Foot Zone and grocery store Ray’s Food Place participate in the program, either by installing energy efficient insulation or using alternative energy.

As such, the availability of incentives has made Oregon more attractive to firms wanting to use renewable energy, Grim said.

”Businesses have to consider a lot of things when they’re looking at where they want to set up,” she said. ”But certainly (these incentives) are one of the key attractions (various economic development organizations) try to bring up when they’re talking to companies about moving to Oregon. It’s a part of the package.”

The incentives, combined with the ample sunlight in Central Oregon, could spur the beginning of a new wave of solar energy opportunities in Bend, said Cylvia Hayes, executive director of Bend-based 3EStrategies, a renewable energy advocacy firm.

”We’ve actually done an aerial photo of Bend, and I was astonished at the amount of space suitable for solar power,” Hayes said. ”A project like the parking garage could be a huge first step in utilizing that resource that we have.”

Clinton agreed.

”There’s a lot of roof space available (in Bend),” he said. ”The sooner we get serious about (solar energy), the better off we’ll be.”

Proposed solar structure for bend’s parking garage

An architect’s rendering of the proposed solar power structure on top of downtown Bend’s parking garage, as seen from Oregon Avenue. The $1.8 million project, which would not be possible without state and federal incentives for renewable energy, could be a sign of things to come in Central Oregon.