The Making Energy Work Coalition

Last year, Sustainable Northwest’s MEW Policy Committee drafted, advocated, and advanced two ambitious pieces of legislation - House Bills 2065 and 2066. The bills passed with overwhelming bipartisan support as a result of their potential to enable local microgrid development and achieve diverse public benefits, grid stability, and community resilience across the state. Collectively, HBs 2065 and 2066 strive to help Oregon’s counties, cities, and Tribal governments:

• Assess their own energy resilience needs;

• Plan and implement community microgrid projects;

• Partner with private entities or utilities in microgrid development; and,

• Operate during both normal conditions and emergencies.

“Thanks to strong community engagement and bipartisan support, 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." Governor Kotek’s Office also celebrated them as “landmark legislation aimed to increase and expedite access to microgrids across urban, suburban, and rural Oregon communities.” 

Today, Sustainable Northwest and its MEW PC are actively engaged in the Oregon Public Utilities Commission’s Microgrid Investigation mandated by HB 2066 (AR 681) to establish an effective framework for the planning, ownership, and operation of these local, self-contained energy systems. We are confident that this effort will positively impact the ability of a community to prepare for and recover from grid disruptions, while creating more energy efficiency, independence, and grid reliability.

Learn more here!

The MEW Policy Committee identified three key policy areas to develop and support for the 2023 legislative session - community energy resilience, development of a state hydrogen economy, and modernization of PURPA Qualifying Facility (“QF”) contracts as our priority initiatives. This work led to the development of three bills introduced in the Oregon legislature this year, in partnership with key community partners and congressional sponsors, to achieve the following:

• Providing funding to help all 36 Oregon counties develop an energy resilience strategy

• Clearly defining renewable hydrogen in order to help Oregon develop a renewable hydrogen economy

• Modernization of PURPA QF contracts for the benefit of community-scale solar energy projects

We are thrilled to announce that the legislature passed bills achieving the first two outcomes above – for community energy resilience and a renewable hydrogen economy – into law

The community energy resilience legislation provides first-of-its-kind funding for all 36 Oregon counties to develop an energy resilience plan. This can include development of microgrids and other improvements to capture federal funds, decrease costs, and improve reliability, which is particularly important to rural communities that face increasing disruptions to the grid from natural disasters such as wildfire. The work to define renewable hydrogen is important to ensure our transition to a clean energy economy is truly clean, utilizing clean power sources for renewable hydrogen. These important milestones could not have been achieved without the unwavering dedication and support of our MEW Policy Committee members, advisors, community partners and funding partners.

And while the efforts to modernize PURPA QF contracts for the benefit of community-scale solar energy projects did not ultimately pass this session, we remain committed to pursuing this important policy initiative with our committee members and partners in the next legislative session and beyond.

We offer our deepest gratitude and appreciation to the partners who’ve made this effort possible, including the Stolte Family Foundation and Climate Solutions. Through your continued support and the dedication of our members and partners, today’s accomplishments are only the beginning of what we will achieve.

One of the most significant environmental takeaways from this session was the passage of HB 2021, which will require the state's major utility suppliers to provide 100% clean electricity to customers by 2040 and prohibits new or expanded natural gas-fired power plants in the state. The new law makes Oregon the eighth state to commit to 100% clean electricity, with the most ambitious timeline in the country. Beyond the mandate, HB 2021 also includes a $50 million incentive program to promote energy resilience and small-scale clean energy projects that will help spread the benefits of this transition to rural communities across the state.

In a separate package, The new Rooftop Solar Incentive Fund provides $10 million, which will extend the benefits of solar and storage to residential customers, low and moderate-income customers, and low-income service providers across Oregon.