Mandatory Utility Green Power Option

August 27, 2021

Summary

Since Oregon's electricity restructuring, the state's electric utilities are required to offer at least one power option with significant renewable energy resources. Legislation (S.B. 838) enacted in June 2007 reinforced that requirement. The law requires all electric utilities to offer customers an optional green power program, where a "significant portion" of the electricity sold by a utility as green power must be generated using qualifying renewables, including wind energy, solar-thermal energy, solar-electric energy, ocean energy, geothermal energy, hydropower and/or certain forms of biomass energy. Each utility must inform customers of the sources of the electricity included in its green power program.

In 2015, H.B. 2941 expanded this requirement to include a rate option with a specific renewable energy resource, such as solar photovoltaics, if the Public Utilities Commission finds there is sufficient demand for such a rate option.

Program Overview

Implementing Sector:	State
Category:	Regulatory Policy
State:	Oregon
Incentive Type:	Mandatory Utility Green Power Option
Web Site:	http://www.oregon.gov/energy/RENEW/Pages/programs.aspx
Administrator:
Start Date:
Eligible Renewable/Other Technologies:	Geothermal Electric Solar Thermal Electric Solar Photovoltaics Wind (All) Biomass Hydroelectric Landfill Gas Tidal Wave Ocean Thermal Anaerobic Digestion

Authorities

Name:	ORS §757.603
Date Enacted:	06/29/1999

Name:	H.B. 2941
Effective Date:	07/01/2015

This information is sourced from DSIRE; the most comprehensive source of information on incentives and policies that support renewables and energy efficiency in the United States. Established in 1995, DSIRE is operated by the N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center at N.C. State University.