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Oregon Set To Become First Coal-Free State (huffingtonpost.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the there's-a-first-for-everything dept.

New submitter daubney writes: Oregon lawmakers have approved legislation to eliminate coal from the state's electrical supply by 2035, the first U.S. state to do so. The bill, called the Clean Electricity and Coal Transition plan, commits the state to doubling its use of renewable energy, including solar and wind, to 50 percent by 2040. The bill, passed this week by both legislative branches, now heads to Gov. Kate Brown. Brown said in a statement that the legislation "equips Oregon with a bold and progressive path towards the energy resource mix of the future." Today, roughly one-third of Oregon's power is produced from coal, according to the Oregon Department of Energy. The measure makes Oregon the first state to eliminate coal by legislative action, The Associated Press reports. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Oregon is matched only by Hawaii, with a 100 requirement by 2045, Vermont, with a 75 percent target by 2032, and California and New York, with 50 percent goals by 2030.

3 of 127 comments (clear)

  1. Coal free? by p51d007 · · Score: 0, Insightful

    Headline should be Oregon set to be the first HIGHEST UTILITY RATES IN THE NATION state.

    1. Re:Coal free? by phantomfive · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Oregon already has half their electricity production from renewable. It's the advantage of living in a place with lots of rain, hydro gets a lot easier. So it's likely Oregon can actually achieve this.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
  2. Is this the best step? by Type44Q · · Score: 1, Insightful
    Is this the best step? I was under the impression there are designs available for coal plants* that don't emit anything but CO2?

    *Yes, obviously the eventual goal is to stop with the fossil fuels completely; I just wonder if this is doing things in the right order (what can I say; this tree-hugger gets suspicious when other tree-huggers look like they might ve putting idealism ahead of reality...).