REACHING OUT TO BRING RENEWABLE ENERGY TO OREGON—An OSPIRG canvasser talks to an Oregonian on the streets of Portland about urging the Legislature to ensure that 25 percent of Oregon’s energy comes from renewable sources by 2025.

Energy policy is shaping up to be one of the biggest issues that legislators who gain office in this fall’s elections will address during the legislative session (see page 4 for the gubernatorial candidates’ positions on energy and other issues). The OSPIRG-backed Renewable Energy Standard, requiring that 25 percent of Oregon’s electricity come from renewable sources like wind and solar by 2025, will likely be one of the most hotly-debated items.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski appointed a Renewable Energy Working Group to develop legislation to enact the standard, and to act on other renewable energy priorities. The group includes OSPIRG’s Jeremiah Baumann as well as state legislators, utilities, renewable energy companies, local government representatives and ratepayers’ representatives.

The group met all summer and at press time was still deliberating over the details of the standard. Big business lobbyists, including Industrial Customers of Northwest Utilities, are the primary opposition; they have already told a Senate committee that they oppose a Renewable Energy Standard.

Meanwhile, OSPIRG’s advocates made the case for a Renewable Energy Standard to legislators and other policymakers, and OSPIRG canvassers, going door to door building public support, were on pace to collect 20,000 postcards to state legislators.
“The big business lobby is used to getting their way, and their opposition to good renewable energy policy means it will be an uphill battle in Salem,” said Baumann. “But we’ve shown before that when we make the case for good policies, and when Oregonians get involved and contact their legislators, the public interest can prevail.”