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Governor Open to All Strategies for State's Transition to Renewable Energy Sources

Posted on: Thursday, 16 March 2006, 21:00 CST

By Alison Ryan

State agencies will transition to using 100 percent renewable electricity sources in the next four years, and the switch may help to create a strong market for the Northwest's already abundant sources of renewable energy.

Specifics on the state's transition to all-renewable power aren't yet in place. But at this point, said a Kulongoski spokesman, Lonn Hoklin, the governor is wide open to any possible strategies - including building new facilities.

Renewable energy proponents say that although there are many yet-to-be-determined items within the goal, it still means there's a spotlight on renewables.

It's not a totally straightforward thing, but it does push the envelope, and that's a good thing, said Rachel Shimshak, director of Renewable Northwest Project. And if the state is saying we believe clean power is the right way to go, and we're going to vote with our state facilities, then that's a good way to go.

The goal, announced by Gov. Ted Kulongoski during a March 10 meeting of the Oregon Sustainability Board, moves up the all-renewable goal from the previous target of 2025. The effort is part of the governor's Action Plan for Energy, which also includes support for statewide renewable energy use, an emerging biofuel market and renewable energy tax credits.

Plenty of potential

Meeting state agency need, industry experts say, is no problem. In 2003, the most recent year for which broken-out data exists, state agencies used 45 average megawatt hours, or 391 million kilowatt hours. The entire state of Oregon used 5,473 average megawatt hours of energy in 2003.

Oregon's sources of renewable power are extensive. According to the American Wind Energy Association's Wind Project database, Oregon currently has 338 megawatts installed, with an additional 140 megawatts planned. The state's wind energy potential is 4,870 megawatts average power output.

In fact, according to the Renewable Northwest Project, in Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, there's enough wind, solar and geothermal resources to satisfy about 40 percent of the entire country's electricity needs.

But having the resources, said Shimshak, doesn't mean that they're being taken advantage of.

Potential isn't a problem, Shimshak said. It's creating enough demand to get people to develop it, and getting people to purchase it.

The state's move to renewable sources is likely to play a role in developing the market, said Christine Hagerbaumer, program director at the Oregon Environmental Council. She points to the example of biofuels, where the most important thing for a potential producer is a steady market - which is an issue for renewable power companies as well. By adopting new sources of energy early, she said, governments can have a huge impact.

By having state agencies step up to the plate and use renewables, that's the right incentive for others, she said. It's sort of like, if the state's doing it, we can do it too.

Shimshak, too, says the goal will add to the interest in both buying and selling clean power.

For the governor to put his hand up and say, 'We want clean energy,' (that) has a very positive impact on the renewable energy market, she said. And government is a good customer, because it's a long-term customer.

Deeper impact ahead

Another part of the Action Plan for Energy is likely to have an even broader impact. The goal, announced Feb. 24 during Kulongoski's State of the State address, is to have renewable resources meet 25 percent of Oregon's energy needs by 2025. Part of the plan calls for the development of a renewable portfolio standard (RPS), a market-driven policy that ensures renewables are included in the electricity resources serving a state. California already has an RPS in place; in the state of Washington, there's a ballot initiative in the works for next November.

Creation of an Oregon RPS will have a big impact, said Chris Taylor, director of development at Horizon Wind Energy and a member of the Oregon Department of Energy's Renewable Energy Work Group.

Getting state agencies on board is a step forward, he said, but as far as transforming the market, if you compare the two, an RPS will have a much bigger effect.

Issues such as which utility providers would be required to participate and which kinds of renewables would be included are still up in the air as the Renewable Energy Work Group works to develop the RPS. According to the governor's plan, the RPS will be proposed to the Legislature in 2007.

Source: Daily Journal of Commerce (Portland, OR)

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