SB 508 Renewable hydroelectric energy

This bill deletes many of the requirements preventing the counting hydroelectric power, enabling more hydroelectric energy to go toward the renewable portfolio standard. (HB 2611, SB 503 & SB 508)

Personal Choice and Responsibility
Standards prohibits fair choice – Opponents admit that standards are to manipulate users and utilities towards wind and solar energy and recognize that hydroelectric energy is just as clean.

Fiscal Responsibility
Oregon is technologically behind many other states and countries that count hydroelectric power as renewable, which increases the cost for Oregon consumers.

Limited Government
Manipulation by government – Only hydroelectric sources outside protected areas that became operational in 1995 or later, and certified as low-impact, can be counted toward the standard. As a result, the requirements leave out much of the hydroelectric energy produced by such sources as Bonneville Power Administration dams. This bill specifies that electricity generated by hydroelectric facility or other equipment that generates electricity through use of hydroelectric energy may be used to comply with renewable portfolio standard.