Oregon is doing an exemplary job at leading the country in reducing our state’s carbon footprint. Oregon law calls for a 75% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
The Northwest Power and Conservation Council has determined that we can’t reach that goal if coal remains in the mix. Nevertheless, the Council’s draft power and conservation plan, though pormoting energy efficiency and renewable energy targets, does not tackle the issue of coal.
Coal produces 23% of the region’s electricity while producing 87% of the region’s pollution. The Council’s draft does not address the CO2 reduction targets that are already on the books in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Furthermore, PGE is planning to spend $500 million over the next 30 years on its Boardman coal burning facility. That’s money that could be spent building out renewable energy capacity.
CleanOregon believes that our state should aggressively pursue a future without coal. If you agree that coal should be eliminated from the energy mix, please contact the Northwest Power and Conservation Council and let them know. You can comment until November 6th here.
Sean D said
It would also be beneficial to reduce use in addition to finding cleaner methods of production. Geoexchange (also known as geothermal heating and cooling) systems are 300-500% efficient, thus taking 1 unit of electricity to get 3-5 units of heating and cooling.