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EWEB is pleased to announce the eligible candidates for 2021 Greenpower project funding of up to $50,000! Funds for the grants come from voluntary Greenpower customer contributions. Two projects will be chosen through majority vote by Greenpower customers. To participate in this year's selection, customers must be registered for the Greenpower program no later than June 22. Online voting will remain open through June 30. The 2021 Greenpower Grant recipients will be announced in early July. Below is a summary of the projects submitted, in alphabetical order. The full proposal for each candidate is linked at the end of their summary.

Adventure! Children's Museum: The mission of Adventure! Children's Museum is to create an environment dedicated to the spirit of adventure in every child, helping them grow as artists, explorers, and innovators. Our organization formed in 2015 to support local families who lacked access to a children's museum in our community. We want to share green energy technology with tens of thousands of visitors in the next year in a fun and exciting hands-on exhibit. The Clean Green Energy Machine exhibition will provide hands-on learning regarding several types of green energy, including fun components like people-powered cranks, kid-built circuits powered by solar energy, and hand pumps that propel water to power a light.  Read More Here. 

Cooperation Eugene: The mission of Cooperation Eugene is to develop local resiliency and implement strategies that invest in regional self-sufficiency. Cooperation Eugene (CE) seeks to cultivate a thriving and regenerative local economy in the Eugene-Springfield area collaborating with people and organizations and building networks. We propose conducting a feasibility study that evaluates the potential of alternative energy and water processing into a neighborhood-scale affordable housing and community development project in the Eugene-Springfield metro area. The Homes for All Design Challenge anticipates a new system of housing development that includes climate justice and community involvement to remediate the extreme shortage of housing affordable to low-income community members. Read More Here. 

The Eugene Mission: The Eugene Mission is one of the largest homeless rescue shelters in the state and provides 83 percent of the crisis overnight housing in Lane County. The Eugene Mission was founded in 1951 and is a well-known safety net and restorative community. Our proposal for a Solar Electric System will offset energy costs and provide environmental benefits. The Eugene Mission is renovating one of its buildings into a Learning Center for homeless families. It is our goal to create a center that uses sustainable energy sources, robust recycling, and a focus on waste reduction. The solar panels will help provide energy for a culinary program in the building centered around the intentional and sustainable use of food donations.  Read More Here. 

Friends of Trees: Friends of Trees inspires people to improve the world around them through a simple solution: Planting Trees. Together. Friends of Trees (FOT) work addresses community needs in multiple areas, including connecting people to each other and to local nature through work that leaves tangible results that provide lasting benefits. The Neighborhood and Community Tree Project will plant 500 new trees and leverage the planting of hundreds more. By planting trees in appropriate locations and building a network of community stewards, trees will live longer. Perhaps most importantly, this project will deliver equity in urban forestry, planting in areas that have a low canopy, low income, and relatively high racial diversity.  Read More Here. 

Greenhill Humane Society: Greenhill Humane Society provides care and shelter for animals, support and resources for people, and education to promote the humane treatment of animals. Greenhill Humane Society has been caring for animals and supporting people in Lane County since 1944. Greenhill hopes to install a 19.78 KW Solar Electric System on the newly constructed Dog Adoption Building. Over its lifetime, this project is estimated to offset 10.6 tons of CO2 and save the organization over $90,000. This system will take Greenhill one step closer to improving resiliency in the event of an electric outage due to a local or regional disaster.  Read More Here.

Lane County Public Works, Fleet Services Division: Lane County Government's mission is to be recognized as the best county in which to live, work and play. The County places people and partnerships at the center of its strategic priorities, which are: Safe, Healthy County; Vibrant Communities; and Robust Infrastructure. Lane County proposes a shared purpose project with EWEB to purchase a transportable EV charging station installed at the County-owned parking lot on 7th Avenue and Pearl Street in downtown Eugene. Lane County believes that providing charging stations near workplaces, multi-unit residences, and public destinations will demonstrate the local government's support of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure.  Read More Here. 

McKenzie School District: The mission of the McKenzie School District is, "Guiding the next generation of our community in learning about themselves, their communities and the world."  The McKenzie School District provides K-12 education to approximately 200 students in the McKenzie River Valley. The Holiday Farm Fire, although a very traumatic experience for our community, is also serving as an opportunity to provide longer-range learning in our community. The Resilient Power for Community Needs project will allow the McKenzie School District to install a photovoltaic array on our gymnasium roof. During the Holiday Farm Fire, the gym provided an emergency relief space for Lane County Emergency Management to stage supplies for fire survivors. It also became the Blue River Relief Center managed by the McKenzie River Community Development Corporation. The proposed array would provide enough energy to power the lighting system and electrical outlets.   Read More Here. 

NAACP: The NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) is the largest civil rights organization in the nation. Our mission is to secure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons. The installation of a solar array with battery backup at the Historic Mims House will lead to increased emergency preparedness and allow the NAACP to continue to provide essential social services to the community during future disasters and emergencies. An electric vehicle charging station, as well as a sustainable landscape and green stormwater infrastructure, will transform the Mims house into a model of community sustainability and promote awareness and adoption of these emerging technologies.   Read More Here.

UO Centre for Optical, Molecular, and Quantum Science: The Oregon Center for Optical, Molecular, and Quantum Science (OMQ) seeks to promote and facilitate research and education in the sciences wherever optics, spectroscopy, quantum science, and the physical investigation of atomic and molecular processes are involved—in either fundamental aspects or technological applications. Students—undergraduate, Masters's, and PhD—are involved in all aspects of research at the center. We plan to collect data to address both the water resources and green-power generation potentials of Oregon's glaciers. We will gather data on the volume of water stored in these glaciers, when and how this water is released, and how this reservoir is changing in response to climate change. This project will educate undergraduate students and the public at large in the process. We believe we can make a crucial contribution to natural resource conservation where these resources are used for freshwater, irrigation, and hydroelectric power.  Read More Here.

UO Solar Radiation Monitoring Lab: The University of Oregon Solar Radiation Monitoring Laboratory (SRML) measures solar resources in the Pacific Northwest. The mission of the SRML is to provide sound, accurate information on the solar resource for decision-makers and utilities to appropriately integrate solar electricity into the region's energy mix. Our plan is to study a variety of photovoltaic systems around the area and see what influences their performance and by how much. People can better understand how their system will perform and best cleaning practices. This information will be gathered and examined for changes in the performance of existing PV systems. This project will provide better and more complete information for the people of Eugene to make sound decisions on the benefits of solar electric systems.  Read More Here.

Village School: The mission of The Village School is to provide an education that fully integrates the arts with an academic curriculum, guided by observations of child development that promote the healthy growth of the whole human being—the head (thinking), the heart (feeling), and the hands (willing). Our goal is to install a minimum of 27 kilowatts of solar panels on our cafeteria roof. When combined with ongoing efforts to heat our site with ductless heat pumps, we hope to dramatically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, improve our interior environment all year-round, including during the warmer months, protect against power outages, and save on operating costs. This will include a monitoring station where students can see the amount of power generated as it happens and over time. Read More Here.

Greenpower is a voluntary program that allows you to support clean, sustainable energy and encourage renewable energy projects in our local community.

Ballots will be delivered via email on June 23rd and voting will be open through June 30th. 

If you are a Greenpower subscriber and haven't recieved your ballot, place email Cheryl.Froehlich@eweb.org.