Transition from coal is best for Oregon’s energy future

As the executive director of the Citizens’ Utility Board of Oregon (CUB), Oregon’s utility ratepayer advocate for 30 years, I am pleased to have negotiated with a coalition of utilities and clean energy advocates to craft proposed House Bill 4036 or The Clean Energy and Transition from Coal Bill.

In a nutshell, this bill expands on 2007 legislation (known as the Renewable Portfolio Standard, or RPS) to eliminate coal-fired electric generation from Oregon’s electricity mix by 2035 and increase renewable energy to 50 percent by 2040.

Let me tell you why this bill is good for Oregon.

Coal is an old, dirty technology that requires ongoing capital investment in expensive pollution controls, and the Federal Clean Power Plan regulations will continue that trend. I strongly believe that phasing out our use of coal is the single-best action Oregon can take to reduce emissions while protecting consumers from future costs associated with carbon regulation. Furthermore, while the cost of coal and coal plants has increased, the cost of clean energy has decreased.

Since 2009, the price of wind has fallen by more than two-thirds, and in the past five years alone, rooftop solar prices have dropped 80 percent. Expecting coal to be a cheap, preferred resource after 2030 is unrealistic, but anticipating that clean energy will be reasonably priced makes sense.

While it is only possible for the Oregon Legislature to deal with electricity supplied to Oregon, we will still be impacting the region as a whole. More renewable generation in Oregon can mean that coal and natural gas generation in other states will be curtailed during the milder times of the year. Less fossil fuel generation guarantees a reduction in carbon emissions.

And, the truth is that Oregonians don’t like coal. Oregon customers of the utilities affected by this proposed legislation approve of phasing out coal. Polling done by Strategies 360 shows that 71 percent of Oregonians supported a similar 2015 proposal to transition the state to clean renewable energy. To ignore this public sentiment would be politically naïve.

CUB believes that HB 4036 is a thoughtful, win-win solution that sets Oregon on a 20-year path to phase out our use of coal and a 25-year path to doubling clean energy standards to 50 percent. It allows us to use tried and true planning tools, and competitive bidding procedures to ensure that Oregon plans for and wisely manages this process.

The transition from coal began when PGE made the 2010 decision to phase out Oregon’s only coal plant in Boardman. Since then, hundreds of coal plants across the country have closed or are scheduled to close. We can pretend that coal plants will be the affordable option as we move forward, or we can pass legislation that prescribes divesting from coal and investing in clean technology.

As the director of the utility consumer advocate group that has saved Oregonians $6.9 billion since 1984, I am confident that HB 4036 is what’s best for Oregon’s energy future: best for consumers, best for utilities and best for the environment.

Bob Jenks of Portland is executive director of the Citizens’ Utility Board of Oregon. He can be reached at bob@oregoncub.org.