Oregon gets the spotlight for historic coal legislation

Oregon’s pioneering legislation to phase out coal and double renewable power has been lauded from coast to coast.

Across the country, Oregon is being celebrated for passing its landmark Clean Electricity and Coal Transition Plan. The strategy mandates the state’s major utility companies eliminate coal power and meet at least half their customers’ electric needs with renewable power by 2040.

At the end of its recent short legislative session, Oregon became the first state in history to use the lawmaking process to wean itself off coal power. You can find the bill’s language here. It impacts only Pacific Power and Portland General Electric.

It turns out Oregon is leading the pack. Earlier this month, Oregon’s U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, along with Representatives Suzanne Bonamici and Earl Blumenauerintroduced resolutions in the Senate and House giving the country a goal to produce more than half of its electricity from carbon-free electricity sources by 2030 through legislation.

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