Energy In the News

Bill requires utilities to purchase 25% renewable energy by 2025

BETH CASPER
Statesman Journal

May 24, 2007

The sun, wind and waves will likely play a bigger role in providing Oregon's electricity with the passage of the renewable energy standard bill in the House on Wednesday.

Lawmakers voted 41-18 to approve Senate Bill 838 C, which requires utilities to purchase 25 percent renewable energy by 2025.

"This is probably the biggest environmental bill in several decades in terms of impact on global warming and at the same time helping the environment and protecting rural economies," said Jeremiah Baumann, an advocate for Environment Oregon, a new organization created out of the Oregon State Public Interest Research Group.

Critics said the bill doesn't do enough to protect ratepayers from potentially higher costs of energy from renewable resources.

"Legislators were eager to vote on this -- it is an important green vote," said Julie Brandis of Associated Oregon Industries. "At the end of the day the customers still bear the risk of this legislation."

Brandis said that the association is supportive of renewable energy but key amendments to protect ratepayers were left out. She said businesses and manufacturers will be following the implementation of the law closely.

Rep. Mike Schaufler, D-Happy Valley, criticized the legislation for mandating action that utilities already are taking.

"We don't need this bill," he said. "We are already going in this direction."

The bill has one major change from the Senate version, which passed in early April. Because of the changes, it heads back to the Senate for another vote before heading to the Governor's desk.

The change means that electric cooperatives that produce 1.5 to 3 percent of the state's electricity do not need to meet the 25 percent renewable energy standard by 2025. They are required to meet a lesser standard of 10 percent by 2025.