The Oregon House of Representatives May 23 passed Senate Bill 838, the Oregon Renewable Energy Act, with a 41-18 vote. Days later, the Senate approved the bill, bringing Oregon one step closer to joining Washington, California and 22 other states in enacting a renewable portfolio standard (RPS). The bill, which passed the Oregon Senate with strong bipartisan support April 10, requires Oregon’s largest utilities to obtain 25 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2025.  It also extends the life of the Oregon Energy Trust to 2025, and increases the trust's ability to fund energy conservation [See "Current Power Brokers: Margie Harris & Tom Foley," nwcurrent, June 2007].

“I think history will remember the Oregon Renewable Energy Act as a landmark piece of legislation, on par with Oregon’s Bottle Bill,” says Rachel Shimshak, executive director of the Renewable Northwest Project.  “The bill will expand the use of Oregon’s generous endowment of solar, wind, geothermal, biomass and wave resources and help the state make the transition from fossil fuel dependence to energy independence.”

The Oregon Renewable Energy Act received widespread support from both public and private electric utilities, environmental groups, local governments, industry, and Native American tribes. The region's 954 megawatts of current wind power capacity has created $1.38 billion in new capital investment, between $5.8 million and $6.8 million each year in local property tax revenues, nearly 1,400 construction jobs, and 80 permanent family-wage jobs, according to Powering Oregon's Future, a coalition of renewable energy advocacy groups including Renewable Northwest Project.

The bill was passed back to the Senate for concurrence and now awaits the signature of Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski.