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Energy:
Renewable Energy Standard

Our Position: support
Bill Number: SB 838
Sponsor: Governor Kulongoski/Senator Brad Avakian
Legislative Session: 2007

This bill establishes a renewable energy standard requiring that 25% of Oregon's energy comes from sources such as wind, solar, wave and biomass by 2025.

Status

SB 838 is a comprehensive piece of legislation that establishes a renewable energy standard for Oregon, requiring that 25% of Oregon's energy be generated from renewable sources by 2025, with interim deadlines as well.

Contact

For more information, contact Ivan Maluski at 503-238-0442, x304 or ivan.maluski@sierraclub.org

Background

The passage of this bill will spawn new investment in wind, solar, wave, geothermal and biomass energy in Oregon over the coming years as major utilities seek and develop new renewable energy resources to meet the mandated deadlines in SB 838. Oregon now joins over 20 other states that have adopted similar renewable energy standards. Wind will likely see the biggest investment in the near term as it is available at a lower cost per kilowatt hour than other forms of renewable energy, and vast areas in northeastern Oregon present a huge, largely untapped growth area for wind farms.

The Sierra Club supports renewable energy standards as a way to move America towards energy independence and greater sustainability. We do have concerns about appropriate siting of all forms of energy production and will work in the future to make sure that renewable energy facilities are not innapropriately sited. We have also consistently expressed concerns about forest biomass activities promoted in SB 838 and other pieces of legislation. Forest biomass in Oregon will need to be closely monitored and constrained so activities that harm Oregon's forests, water and wildlife are not promoted. Language in SB 838 directs that any biomass activities conducted under the bill qualify as renewable only if they improve forest or rangeland ecological health and reduce catastrophic wildfire risk. This marks an improvement from biomass language adopted by the Oregon legislature in 2005 (SB 1072) that the Sierra Club opposed, which allowed for wood from any timber sale to be used for biomass regardless of whether it was from logging activities in old growth forests, roadless areas or endangered species habitat.  SB 838 also limits eligible biomass facilities to those built after 1995, which means that biomass electricity plants in place at some existing lumber mills that process old growth timber will not qualify as sources of renewable energy.