Not only was the environment not a primary focus for the Oregon legislature during its 32-day rapid-fire session, as it was for its neighbor to the north, but the state was also working with a tighter budget that curtailed the amount of investments available for climate initiatives. Like Washington, Oregon alternates between long and short sessions, and Oregon's 2024 short session ended on March 7. The CETI team tracked the handful of exciting clean energy legislative and budget proposals that were in the mix and here’s what made it over the finish line.
Battery storage will be key to providing a constant, reliable, high-quality power supply in a clean energy future where renewable energy resources offer intermittent generation. When the sun doesn’t shine and the wind isn’t blowing, we need stored energy to serve what will be an ever-growing demand for electricity.
Although our Net-Zero Northwest Energy Pathways study found that the Northwest may not need as much grid-scale storage on the path to net-zero as other parts of the country due to our relatively flexible clean energy mix (largely hydro), developing sufficient battery storage is still a big challenge–and opportunity–for the Northwest.
HB 4015 aims to address a piece of this puzzle in Oregon by creating a more streamlined and flexible process for siting stand-alone battery energy storage systems (BESS). Under this law, a developer of a battery storage facility or the governing body of a local government (after consulting with the developer) can elect to defer regulatory authority over the siting process to the state Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC). Previously, the county was the only route for permitting stand-alone BESS.
The bill also adds BESS to the list of energy projects exempt from requiring a separate site certificate if it is within the site or energy generation area of a facility for which a site certificate has been issued. This streamlined process aims to increase construction of energy storage facilities, although other barriers to permitting and siting these projects still exist.
Offshore wind (OSW) has the potential to be an important renewable energy resource for Oregon’s clean energy future, but developing OSW requires careful consideration of potential impacts as well as benefits.
An assessment by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) found that national opportunities for fixed and floating OSW development could produce three times the amount of electricity consumed annually in the US. While we will not realistically see that scale of OSW development, the federal government has set a goal of developing 30 GW of new OSW by 2030.
The American Federation of Labor Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFK-CIO) proposed HB 4080, which aims to put Oregon on a path to equitably developing OSW capacity. There are three main components to this legislation: it (1) directs the state to create a roadmap for OSW development grounded in meaningful engagement with Tribal governments and other impacted groups, (2) requires the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) to conduct a consistency review, and (3) establishes labor and supply chain standards for OSW development.
Electricity transmission and market growth are two barriers to Oregon’s clean energy future. A Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) could help the state’s utilities overcome those barriers.
RTOs are independent organizations that operate transmission systems, ensure reliability, and optimize supply and demand bids for wholesale electric power. Currently, two-thirds of the nation’s electricity load—but none of the Northwest—is served by an RTO region.
SB 1581 would track progress and ensure transparency between utilities and state officials. It requires investor-owned utilities (IOUs) in Oregon that sell over 2 million MWh/year to report annually to the legislature on any steps, including plans or preparations, that the IOU has taken or is taking toward participating in a regional energy market.
Advocates have long used fossil fuel divestment as a tactic to align investments with values and revoke the social license of the fossil fuel industry.
The Oregon Environmental Caucus lauds HB 4083 as "one of the country’s first fossil fuel divestment measures" by a state government that will align the state’s financial and environmental goals. (Another example is Maine’s 2021 law to divest from and end future investments in fossil companies for its public employee retirement system).
This bill directs the Oregon Investment Council and the State Treasurer to ensure that current and future money in the Public Employees Retirement Fund is not invested in any thermal coal company or any fund containing a thermal coal company.
The legislation stipulates that divestment and reinvestment must not result in monetary loss to the fund and that the State Treasurer may retain investment in a thermal coal company if the company demonstrates that it is transitioning to clean energy on a reasonable timeline.
The wage tier analysis performed as part of our NZNW Workforce State Analysis-Oregon found that on a path to net-zero, 44% of electricity sector jobs in 2030 will make less than $30/hr, which is considered below a living wage in the state. Labor unions could play an essential role in ensuring early and intentional planning to guarantee the development of family-sustaining wages.
Existing Oregon laws require that workers be paid the prevailing wage in the same trade or occupation in the location where labor is performed for public works projects. Every year, the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor and Industries is required to determine the prevailing wage for each trade or occupation in each defined locality. SB 1568 clarifies electrical workers’ union representation and collective bargaining agreements for specifying these prevailing wages.
In addition to the legislation mentioned above, Oregon made a few budget allocations to support an equitable clean energy transition, including:
The Oregon Clean Energy Pathways Analysis that CETI produce in 2021 with Evolved Energy Research and Gridlab found that Oregon can become a leader in carbon emissions reductions while driving robust clean energy expansion and demand-side electrification.
We are excited to see the progress that the Oregon Legislature made on clean energy policy this year. Moving forward, it will remain ever-critical to align policy and regulatory frameworks in the state to achieve an equitable clean energy transition at the scale and pace that the climate crisis requires.
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