Here's what's on our mind.

A recent study evaluated three overlooked steps that developers can take that will often result in surprising savings in development costs. The study focused on the development of wind energy generation facilities, but the lessons offered seem…

On June 30, 2020, the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC) issued a permanent administrative order adopting rule changes to hopefully clarify when new solar energy projects in the state must get a land use permit from EFSC.

In the fall of 2018, Portland voters approved the Clean Energy Initiative to establish the Portland Clean Energy Fund (“PCEF”). The initiative requires Portland retailers with total annual revenues over $1 billion and Portland annual revenues over…

Crops need sun. Solar panels need sun. One would think there is enough sunshine, even in rainy Oregon, for everyone. But at the urging of some strict farmland preservationists, the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission recently adopted…

The Oregon Department of Energy has created a web tool showing the phenomenal growth of solar energy in Oregon in the last 20 years. In 1999, 15 tiny solar facilities were all that existed in the state. By 2018 the state appears to be carpeted in a…

Last week, a colleague and I went on a field trip hosted by the Portland Water Bureau to the Bull Run Watershed, which is the primary water supply for the City of Portland and its multiple wholesale customers (including the City of Beaverton). The…

It's no secret that Oregon's natural beauty is one of its greatest treasures. In 2016, Thrillist named Oregon the seventh most beautiful state in the country – a ranking that should come as no surprise to most Oregonians. Our remarkable rivers…

Currently, the largest operating solar energy facility in Oregon is the 56 megawatt Gala Solar facility near Prineville, which generates electricity for Apple. But homegrown Oregon developer Obsidian Renewables has plans for something much, much…

The Oregon legislature is currently in the process of figuring out how the state will (or won't) deal with the greenhouse gas emissions made by Oregonians that are negatively impacting the world's climate. Substantially similar drafts of the Clean…

On January 4, 2018, the Oregon Court of Appeals issued its decision in the case brought by Petitioners Columbia Riverkeeper, Portland Audubon Society, and Center for Sustainable Economy, among others, to attempt to uphold the City of Portland's new…

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury recently pledged that the City and County will run exclusively on renewable energy by 2050. Is this for real? Can it be done? To answer that, this post focuses on science and…

By their nature, senior living communities are forward-thinking, always keeping an eye on 10, 20, 30 years down the road. Rose Villa, a Portland, Oregon nonprofit continuing care retirement community (CCRC), exemplifies this forward-thinking strategy…

In December 2016, Portland General Electric released its "Transportation Electrification Plan." The objectives outlined in the Plan position PGE as leader among electric utilities in embracing electric transportation. The utility's goals include…

Portland General Electric (PGE) will shut down Oregon's only coal-fired power plant in 2020. Recently, PGE filed with the Oregon Public Utility Commission its plan to replace that energy, and to meet the state's revised renewable portfolio standard…