By Julia Pyper

March 4, 2016 - (From GTM) - A diverse group of stakeholders in Oregon are

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BOTH SB 1547 (the Clean Electricity/Coal Transition Plan) AND HB 4037 (the Solar Incentive Program) passed the Oregon Senate. SB 1547 was approved on a vote of 17-12 and HB 4037 passed on a vote of 22-6.

Thank you to everyone in the solar industry who visited the capitol, made phone calls and sent e-mails. It really did make a big difference.

There is now a lot of work ahead to make sure these policies achieve the potential they hold. You'll be hearing a lot about that in the coming months.

Know that you helped create big opportunities for the solar industry.

I'll have more details and analysis soon but wanted folks to have the news right away.

Go Solar!

Jeff@oseia

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Two prominent environmental bodies have put out studies supporting legislation that cancels out coal in Oregon and doubles the state's renewable energy portfolio.

The studies from Renewable Northwest and the Oregon Global Warming Commission focus on different aspects of the Oregon Clean Electricity and Coal Transition Plan. The groups say the measure will cut electric emissions n half while not significantly increasing rates.

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Oregon utilities endorse bill to end coal use by 2030, boost RPS to 50% by 2040

• After weeks of negotiations, Oregon utilities have agreed to back a bill that would phase out coal-fired generation by 2030 and boost the state's renewable energy standards to 50% by 2040, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports.
• The legislation applies to two of the investor-owned utilities in Oregon — Portland General Electric (PGE) and Pacific Power — which together account for about 70% of electricity delivered in the state. Consumer-owned power companies, public utilities and Idaho Power, the remaining IOU in the state, would not be affected, according to a summary of the bill provided to Utility Dive.
• The proposed bill also maintains a 4% incremental cost cap, which means utilities do not have to add renewable energy to their portfolios if the incremental cost is more than 4% higher than the cost of developing non-renewable energy.

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