A bill committing electricity providers to deliver 100% clean power to Oregon customers by 2040 passed both the House and Senate of the Oregon State Legislative Assembly on Saturday. If the policy is signed into law by Gov. Kate Brown, Oregon will become the eighth state in the United States with a legislative commitment to 100% clean or renewable electricity, joining Hawaii, California, Washington, New Mexico, New York, Maine and Virginia. With this act, Oregon will also boast the fastest timeline in the country to reach this goal. The bill’s passage follows years of advocacy from a broad coalition of stakeholders and organizations, including Environment Oregon, for a clean and renewable future for Oregon.
The policy sets targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with electricity sold in Oregon compared to a 2010 baseline. The legislation includes requirements for 80% emissions reductions in the sector by 2030, 90% by 2035 and, ultimately, 100% by 2040. Since emissions from Oregon power have not increased and have, in fact, declined since 2010, the bill will, in effect, require emission-free electricity in the state by 2040. Given the state’s existing Renewable Portfolio Standard and existing hydropower generation capacity, renewables are set to deliver the vast majority of the new zero emissions electricity target.
“The Oregon Legislature took a crucial step toward a cleaner, healthier future for Oregonians — and for all Americans — by passing this commitment to a clean and renewable future,” said Environment America’s 100% Renewable Campaign Director Emma Searson in a statement. “Achieving the clean electricity targets set out in this bill, in addition to the state’s existing targets for renewable electricity, will protect the health and safety of every Oregonian. And, this new notch in the nationwide movement’s belt is further proof that the will and momentum we need to transform our energy system for the better is growing in communities from coast to coast. If this commitment is signed into law, Americans from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine — and so many cities and states in between — will be able to watch clean energy replace polluting power sources in their communities over the coming decades.”
The Oregon Clean Energy Opportunity Campaign also celebrated the bill’s progress.
“100% Clean Energy for All is an exciting, ambitious, and achievable policy grounded in justice for communities who have been historically harmed the most by our energy systems,” said Nikita Daryanani, Climate & Energy Policy Manager at the Coalition of Communities of Color in Portland. “We were proud to be a part of convening key stakeholders from so many sectors to reach consensus on this bill. Now, as a result, Oregonians in every part of the state can see major benefits from more clean energy, such as good-quality jobs, community ownership of disaster-resilient solar projects, and less air pollution. We have adopted the fastest clean electricity timeline of any U.S. state with standard-setting opportunities and benefits for workers and the nation’s first ban on new or expanded fossil fuel power plants.”
News item from Environment America. Updated with OCEOC’s statement on June 29.
That’s a moving target in States like Oregon and Washington, where hydro-electric generation is a large part of the electricity mix. Some parts of Oregon are around 40% service is hydro-electric, while other regions are almost 90% hydro-electric generation right now. Better intrastate interconnection could create the 70% to 80% target without any other generation needed online at this time.
Now that Oregon and Washington States are moving towards their decarbonization goals, all of that hydro power that was shipped to California to keep its grid up, would not be available to export to California “as needed”. The closer to 2030 one gets, the more interesting it will become to see how mandate madness works out.