Portland State hosts Oregon Energy Planning Council

One of the main points of Thursday’s first official meeting of the Oregon Energy Planning Council (OEPC) held in Portland State’s Smith Memorial Student Union, was best stated by Gov. Ted Kulongoski.

“The toughest truth that we have to face is that the days of cheap, plentiful energy—that can be extracted without concern about the environment—are over,” Kulongoski said. “And they are not coming back.”

The meeting featured Kulongoski as well as the group’s chairperson Ron Adams, the Dean of the College of Engineering at Oregon State University. Also in the spotlight was Michael Grainey, the director of the Oregon Department of Energy, which gives added incentives to Oregonians utilizing energy conservation tactics as well as renewable resources.

The governor outlined ambitious goals for the future of energy consumption and greenhouse gas reduction Thursday with his 50-year plan, which was deemed necessary after some less-than-promising data was collected in 2005.

The data focuses on how energy is produced, and shows that approximately 42 percent of Oregon’s energy is said to come from hydroelectric power. This means that while hydroelectric plants such as Bonneville Dam may be negatively effecting fish populations as well as water toxicity, they also generate a significant amount of electricity.

The data also shows that another 41 percent of Oregon’s energy is said to be produced from coal, a fuel source that has become a concern nationally as well as locally due to the fact that it is a dying resource that produces harmful chemicals, including greenhouse gases.

To combat these issues, an action plan was drafted in August 2007. The action plan was discussed for the first time at Thursday’s meeting by OEPC, the group that has the daunting task of putting it into motion.

The plan’s overriding objective is to serve as a campaign to encourage residents and businesses to conserve energy.
“It is my concern that we have not brought the public along with us in the discussion about energy, about the trade-offs that have to be made,” Kulongoski said.

While the goals are vast, Kulongoski was optimistic that they will be reached.

His plan states: “The renewable electricity standard requires that at least 25 percent of our new energy resources come from renewable sources and when combined with our existing sources of electricity, will ensure that by 2025, over 60 percent of our electricity will come from non-fossil fuel sources.”

One example of this shift to renewable energy sources is the fact that in July 2007 the Energy Facility Siting Council approved the 900-megawatt Shepherd’s Flat wind farm near Arlington, Ore., slated to be the largest wind farm in the world.

While the previous inquiries showed wind and geothermal power being a mere one percent slice of the energy pie, those numbers have been increasing steadily over the last four years, and the governor intends to keep it that way. The windfarms not only create renewable, cheap energy, but also provide more jobs for those in rural areas.

The council has plenty of work ahead over the next 50 years, and plans to keep the citizens of Oregon involved in every step of the process by proposing each question of the plan individually before looking at the big picture.

“This is not just about turning the lights on in our building,” Kulongoski said, “it’s about running the economy.”