Portland’s bureaus are a big step closer to achieving the city’s goal to buy 100 percent of their electricity from clean, renewable energy sources. City reps from the Attorney’s Office, Sustainable Development and an energy service supplier are in negotiations that will lead to a long-term supply of electricity from an eastern Oregon wind farm. If successful, bureaus will continue to use the PGE and PP&L system of poles, wires and substations to receive the electricity, but the generation source of that power will no longer be fossil fuels, coal and natural gas, and hydro. Instead, the power will originate at a new wind farm to be built in either Sherman or Gilliam County.

 

Will renewable power cost more? No - that’s the beauty of the agreement. Using the collective buying power of all city bureaus ($2 million from Water alone) and ability to commit over a long term, staff have negotiated a rate equal to what we pay today. Another huge benefit is in financial planning. Now electricity generation costs will be stable and predictable into the future years. So in the end we all win - the city avoids 65,000 tons of CO2 emissions each year, we support millions of dollars in local economic activity for a new wind farm, our bureaus have control over the cost of electricity generation, and we don’t pay extra.

 

By fall the negotiation team expects to present the agreement to the City Council for consideration, and if approved, Water Bureau facilities can expect wind power as early as the end of 2007!

 

David Tooze

Senior Energy Specialist

Office of Sustainable Development