Energy Program News

Salem, Ore.—Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski will sign into law Wednesday a bill requiring that large utilities generate 25% of the state’s electricity from renewable sources by 2025. The bill’s passage caps a year in which 10 states have created such standards or increased existing standards. According to Environment Oregon, an advocacy group, the Oregon standard will generate enough renewable electricity to power nearly 1.2 million Oregon households. Nationally, all such state requirements will generate enough electricity to power 29.7 million households.

“Renewable energy standards are states’ most powerful tools for taking control of their energy future,” said Jeremiah Baumann, an advocate with Environment Oregon, “And homegrown renewable energy brings with it a huge boost for rural economies and a major cut in global warming pollution.”

Oregon’s standard will cut 6.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2025, an amount equivalent to that emitted by about 1 million cars. Nationally, state requirements, including Oregon’s, will cut 114 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, an amount equivalent to that emitted by 18.7 million cars.

“Global warming is affecting the world we live in, from the shrinking glaciers in the Cascade Mountains to the rising sea levels on Cape Cod,” said Baumann, “But renewable energy is just one example of the tools we have within our grasp to address the problem.”

Oregon’s standard is one of the strongest in the country – only Minnesota and New Hampshire have set standards as high as 25%, and California has a standard of 20% by 2010. All three standards were set within the last year. Other states setting or increasing their standards in the last year include Washington, Arizona, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Colorado, and Maryland.

“Renewable energy standards are the best thing for rural communities since the plow,” said Don Coats, a wheat grower in Sherman County, Oregon, where wind power generation is increasing rapidly and farmers and rural counties are seeing increased revenue from the facilities.

Oregon’s law was championed by Governor Kulongoski, State Senators Brad Avakian (D-Bethany) and Jason Atkinson (R-Grants Pass), and Representatives Jackie Dingfelder (D-Portland) and Ben Cannon (D-Portland). A state-wide coalition of consumer advocates, environmentalists, farmers, rural county commissioners and sheriffs, business organizations, labor unions, and religious leaders supported the bill

Buoyed by advances in the states and growing public concerns about energy issues, an expanding number of constituencies are pressing Congress to adopt a clean energy standard. Oregon’s clean energy victory comes a week before the U.S. Senate is expected to take up energy legislation. 

U.S. Senate Energy Committee Chair Bingaman (D-N.M.) has pledged to offer an amendment that would require 15% of the country’s electricity to be generated by clean renewable energy by 2020.  Senator Klobuchar (D-Minn.) is expected to introduce legislation to generate 25% of the country’s electricity from renewable sources by 2025.   Energy legislation is also expected in the U.S. House of Representatives later in the month.  Representatives Udall (D-N.M.) and Platts (R-Penn.) have introduced H.R. 969 which would require 20% renewable electricity generation nationwide by 2020.

“States like Oregon have raised the bar for strong renewable energy policy, and it’s time for Congress to take these benefits nationwide,” said Rob Sargent, energy program director for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

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Note on Methodology:

Oregon numbers were calculated by Environment Oregon based on data from the Oregon Department of Energy and from individual utilities. For national figures, Oregon data were combined with national data compiled by the Union of Concerned Scientists.