Sierra Club says there are abundant solar, wind, and geothermal resources in Oregon, enough to provide for all Oregonians’ electricity needs, and to sell excess energy to other states.
Oregon state utility PacifiCorp’s reliance on coal power is financially risky for both its ratepayers and its investors, and impedes clean energy growth, a report released by the Sierra Club Wednesday concludes.
Oregon is a state with an abundance of clean, renewable energy resources, and is a national leader in energy efficiency programs and policies. Many Oregonians, specifically those who are served by municipal and other consumer-owned utilities, are well-insulated from the risks and costs associated with coal-fired power plants because their energy supply comes primarily from hydropower. Customers of Pacific Power in Oregon do not share this benefit—almost two-thirds of their power comes from out-of-state coal plants, exposing them to the costs of plant upgrades, future emissions
costs, and future plant cleanup and site remediation costs. Developing in-state renewable resources and further investing in energy efficiency could help reduce this exposure, and would also provide economic and employment benefits to the state.
The NREL data shown in the table right are designed to reflect an extreme upper bound on resource potential in each state, without regard to, for example, transmission accessibility or cost. However, they do suggest that there are abundant solar, wind, and geothermal resources in Oregon, enough to provide for all Oregonians’ electricity needs, and to sell excess energy to other states, even if only a fraction of this clean energy potential is ultimately developed.
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