Oregon becomes leader in community microgrids
Most advanced legislation in the nation will allow Oregon communities to build, own, operate, and value microgrids – advancing clean energy, grid reliability, and disaster response for local communities
With an overwhelming bipartisan majority in both chambers, this month the Oregon Legislature made Oregon a national leader in energy resilience with a first-in-the nation strategy to create a regulatory framework for building microgrids. By using home-grown local energy, communities in Oregon will be able to withstand natural disasters and grid outages, and create a market for developing and connecting more renewable energy projects to the grid.
Microgrids are local, self-contained energy systems designed to operate independently of the larger power grid (known as ‘islanding’), or in coordination with it. This allows systems to continue delivering power even during a grid disruption. Microgrids can also fill capacity shortages during peak demand times by feeding the grid, which benefits not only the local community, but the region as a whole.
There are currently no community-owned or -operated microgrids in Oregon, and this legislation (HB 2065 and HB 2066) will make it possible for communities to plan, build, own, and value local microgrids – and connect them to the main grid. Microgrids can operate with a wide variety of power sources, but often make use of local clean energy supplies such as solar, storage, microhydro, biomass, or wind. This is unique in the nation, as most microgrids are currently owned by utilities, government, or private businesses.
“Thanks to strong community engagement and bipartisan leadership, Oregon has passed the most ambitious microgrid legislation in the nation,” said Dylan Kruse, president of Sustainable Northwest. “These bills pave the way for clean energy innovation to support community resilience, energy independence, and cost savings across the state."
“As we look towards how to develop resiliency in our electric grid – for natural disasters and other things – microgrids are going to be a key player. If we are really going to build resiliency at the community level with community ownership, we have got to figure that out, and [HB 2066] will ask the Oregon Public Utilities Commission to do so,” said Representative Mark Owens, District 60.
What HB 2065 and HB 2066 do:
Requires Oregon Public Utilities Commission to create a roadmap and regulatory framework for building, owning, and valuing microgirds in Oregon
Allows communities to hire third-party experts to conduct grid interconnection studies, which will reduce delays in building microgrids and small-scale renewable energy
Establishes Oregon as a national leader in microgrid policy and regulation
Increases clean energy deployment, electric system reliability, and grid modernization
Improves rural energy independence, electric service, economic development, and resilience to power outages
Reduces rural energy costs at a time of skyrocketing power rates
Reduces pressure to build expensive transmission infrastructure
“The recent passage of Oregon’s HB 2065 and HB 2066 represents a significant advancement in fostering the development of community microgrids across the state. These pivotal bills not only support our ongoing efforts, but also mark the beginning of a crucial journey toward paving the way for the establishment of innovative microgrids, empowering local communities, and enhancing energy resilience throughout Oregon,” said Nils Cristofferson, executive director of Wallowa Resources in Northeast Oregon.
“HB 2065 and HB 2066 will create the conditions for wider deployment of microgrids in Oregon. Microgrids are critical for energy resilience, particularly in rural communities that are vulnerable to grid disturbances. And microgrids can utilize local energy sources, adding energy capacity during normal conditions while allowing communities to keep critical infrastructure like businesses, schools, and hospitals operating during an emergency,” said Joshua Basofin, Oregon clean energy program director for Climate Solutions.
More details on each bill
HB 2065: Utilities resources are currently overextended by increasing costs for operations and maintenance, natural disaster response, customer demand growth, electric load balancing, wildfire litigation, and rising costs for financially-intensive capital projects. These demands reduce staff capacity and create bottlenecks in technical work and review. HB 2065 addresses these bottlenecks in the energy planning process by enabling communities to work with certified, licensed third party professionals to provide interconnection and engineering review to reduce delays and get more projects built.
HB 2066: Until now, legal and regulatory uncertainty have stifled microgrid projects from proceeding past initial planning phases in Oregon and many other states. To shed light on these uncertainties, HB 2066 directs the Oregon Public Utilities Commission to conduct an investigation to establish clarity around the ownership and operation of microgrids, effectively providing the rules of the road for communities looking to develop systems with private investment or public sector grant funding —not ratepayer or utility financing.
In addition to Sustainable Northwest’s leadership, partners in this work include: The Making Energy Work Coalition, League of Oregon Cities, Microgrid Resources Coalition, ProtoGen Inc., Wallowa Resources, Reimagine Power, Spark Northwest, Lewis and Clark Law School’s Green Energy Institute, Oregon Coast Energy Alliance Network, Climate Solutions, Oregon Solar + Storage Industries, and many others.
