Portland and Multnomah County Adopt Renewables Resolution


Trump’s announcement that the US is withdrawing from the Paris climate accord is deeply disappointing.  His decision flies in the face of solid science on the role of human activity in climate change.  What is needed is climate policy grounded in a solid set of facts.  It is for this reason I take issue with the Resolution adopted by the Portland City Council and Multnomah County at the Council Session on June 1st.  
"Until economic forms of utility-scale electricity storage are achieved, it will be next to impossible to economically replace all fossil fuel electricity generation with renewables."  
Two policies were adopted in that Resolution.  Both policies apply community-wide, not just to City or County facilities.  One goal states that by 2035 all residents and businesses in the City and County will only use electricity generated from renewables.  This means that PGE and PacifiCorp must deliver electricity to our homes and businesses that is only from reneables, such as, hydropower, wind, and solar.  That exceeds the requirements those utilities face under state law, SB1547.  While the 2017 Progress Report to the City’s 2015 Climate Action Plan states that SB1547 requires “…that the utilities phase out power from coal-fired plants entirely by 2035,” that law is silent on the phasing out of coal fired-plants by 2035 or at any time thereafter.  The 2017 Progress Report also incorrectly asserts that the utilities must “…supply 50 percent of all electricity from new renewable resources by 2040.”  What the law requires is that by 2050 those two utilities either have built new renewables or have purchased Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) equal to at least 50 percent of the electricity delivered to its retail customers.  What this means is that PGE and PacifiCorp may continue operating existing and new fossil fuel powered generating plants as long as they meet the 50 percent by 2050 using RECs.  There are a number of businesses that sell RECs.  One such entity, The Bonneville Environmental Foundation, is located here in Portland.    

As for the second objective, by 2050, 100 percent of the energy (not just electricity) used in both the City and County will be from renewable sources.  This means that customers of Northwest Natural Gas will no longer use natural gas to heat their homes and businesses, or heat water, or cook their food, or dry their clothes.  It also means that all automobiles, Tri-Met vehicles, all delivery trucks, all tractor-trailers, trains, ships and planes that operate within the City or County will no longer use gasoline or diesel fuel or recycled cooking oil or any other type of fossil fuel.  

Even if the City and County had jurisdiction to enforce this Resolution, it would have to address the very real and significant technological and economic challenges of such a transition.  My exchanges with the Mayor’s staff have revealed almost no understanding of these challenges.  In addition, while the Resolution contains language that points to the very real harms that the low-income community faces from these environmental problems, the scientific literature contains numerous articles identifying the negative impacts of these renewable energy policies on those same groups.  Further, last year the Northwest Power Planning Council released their 7th Power Plan.  Part of that plan evaluated policies to reduce carbon emissions from electricity generation.  Relying on renewable sources of generation was among the costliest approaches. 
So what is the answer? That's a good question, and one we should begin examining.  The sad news is there is no silver bullet. Trying to accomplish the two goals in the Resolution will be very costly. It's unclear who will pay those costs.  Will it be taxpayers through city and county budgets? Will it be utility ratepayers through higher electricity prices?  Until economic forms of utility-scale electricity storage are achieved, it will be next to impossible to economically replace all fossil fuel electricity generation with renewables.  Thankfully, the Resolution identifies energy efficiency as the first and best choice.  Don't get me wrong, human causes of climate change are a fact.  Even so, rushing to burnish the City’s and County’s green credentials is quite a bit easier than doing the heavy lifting that will be required by each of us to actually reduce our carbon footprint. 



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