The Oregon legislature’s passage of a 100% clean energy bill on Saturday could mean the entire West Coast — California, Oregon and Washington — could see a sharp reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century along with a growing number of states in the interior West.
The measure, HB 2021, requires the state’s investor-owned utilities to serve retail customers with 100% clean energy by 2040. Only New York shares such an ambitious timeline. Neighboring California and Washington require utilities to rely on zero-emitting resources by 2045.
The efforts of Oregon Democrats to enact broader carbon cap-and-trade bills in the past two years were thwarted when Republican lawmakers staged walkouts, preventing a quorum for voting.
“HB 2021 isn’t the sweeping cure-all carbon cap bill many in Oregon have sought,” Angus Duncan, Pacific Northwest consultant to the Natural Resources Defense Council wrote in a blog post after the bill’s passage. “In some ways it’s Oregon catching up to similar standards adopted by our neighbors north [Washington] and south [California] and seven other states.”
The bill would require Oregon’s large investor-owned utilities, primarily Portland General Electric and PacifiCorp, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2030 and 100% by 2040. IOUs serve about three-quarters of the state’s population.
Oregon’s energy mix currently consists of 37% hydropower, 27% coal and 25% natural gas, along with smaller contributions from wind, nuclear and solar power, according to the Oregon Department of Energy. The state’s numerous energy cooperatives and municipal and publicly owned utilities rely largely on hydropower.
Gov. Kate Brown, a champion of electric vehicles and other environmental causes, is expected to sign the measure soon. She placed it on her list of bills of “particular significance.”
“Whether it’s fire recovery, infrastructure, clean energy, or education, we passed significant legislation that will have a lasting impact,” Brown said in a statement upon the conclusion of the 2021 legislative session Saturday night.
Other states in the Western Interconnection with 100% clean energy mandates include Nevada and New Mexico. Colorado legislation requires utilities that serve more than 500,000 customers to adopt 100% clean-energy standards.
Hawaii, Maine, New York and Virginia have similar mandates.