Renewable energy specialists are installing a new solar panel array on the grassy, sloped southern edge of a former landfill along NE 82nd Avenue, now owned by Bird Alliance of Oregon. Once complete, the community solar array will reduce utility costs for 140 low-income Portlanders through a collaboration with APANO, Bonneville Environmental Foundation, and other partners. The new energy source at 2800 NE 82nd Avenue uses the site’s topography to receive year-round sun exposure while staying low to the ground, making the installation less visible, particularly as the nonprofit continues habitat restoration on its 12.49-acre property purchased in 2024.

Crews have placed over half of the solar panels on a metal gridwork that supports them. Most people passing the site will not see all of the units, which sit a few feet above the ground, with views blocked by the adjacent People’s Courts pickleball facility. However, they will contribute 800 kW of renewable energy to the grid. The array operators expect credits from the electricity generated at the site to reduce participant low-income households’ energy bills by up to 40%. Portland Pacific Power customers who directly pay their own utility bill and earn up to 80% of Oregon’s Median Income can apply to APANO’s community solar project as a low-income subscriber and potentially receive credits on their utility bill. The organization describes community solar as a way for people historically left out of traditional solar to benefit without buying their own solar panels. APANO also has a Residential Rooftop Solar program that uses Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF) money to install solar panels for homeowners. That program launched to serve 14 homes, while this latest effort should support 140 power ratepayers.

This new activity follows habitat restoration and the demolition of long-abandoned structures. For decades, this overgrown field was known for the graffiti-covered remnants of a golf driving range built on top of a landfilled quarry. For most passersby, all they observed was an abandoned building at 2806 NE 82nd Avenue, situated next to a tall, grassy field. Hidden inside the overgrown brush was the collapsing structure of a half-moon driving range. Several fires in the former “Pro Shop” administrative building on NE 82nd Avenue complicated its demolition. However, in September 2025, crews completed removing this site’s golfing past.

PCEF supported construction of this community solar array across NE 82nd Avenue from McDaniel High School as its seventh community solar project. It is one of the first public benefits planned for the Bird Alliance of Oregon site, which will host nature trails and a wildlife hospital that should provide educational opportunities for area students. Work on the solar array is proceeding quickly and should be visibly complete within the coming weeks. More visible changes to the site will continue over the coming years.

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