‘I kind of have a reputation’

A retired state employee in Oregon has been using her knowledge of the state’s bureaucratic processes to stymie renewable energy projects, according to a joint report from ProPublica and Oregon Public Radio.

“I kind of have a reputation,” said 76-year-old Irene Gilbert, per ProPublica.

What’s happening?

According to the Oregon Department of Energy, no one in the state has filed more lawsuits seeking to quash solar and wind projects, or efforts to build the transmission lines that would connect these projects to consumers, than Gilbert.

Her 15 lawsuits and countless complaints have single-handedly delayed or completely derailed numerous renewable energy projects over the years, putting in doubt Oregon’s requirement that all electricity production in the state be carbon-free by 2040.

“I figure I can lose a thousand cases. Even if it doesn’t look like it, I made a difference,” Gilbert said, per ProPublica.

In one specific case, Gilbert managed to delay construction of a proposed wind farm for so long that the developer eventually withdrew the plans, and the wind farm was never built.

“We were successful in stopping that,” Gilbert said of the proposed wind farm, per ProPublica. “The company would say that it was a financial decision. I think it was more than that.”

The situation dates back to 1967, when Portland General Electric announced plans to construct the Trojan Nuclear Plant just an hour outside Portland. The announcement sparked fierce opposition from antinuclear activists.

In response, state lawmakers established the Nuclear and Thermal Energy Council. Using this body, activists successfully delayed several other proposed nuclear projects to the point that they were never built, according to ProPublica.

The Nuclear and Thermal Energy Council eventually changed names to become the Energy Facility Siting Council, but it remains in operation to this day.

One striking difference, however, is that these days people like Gilbert are using this relic of progressive activism to severely delay or even stop altogether the kinds of cleaner, renewable energy projects that today’s progressives strongly favor.

For her part, though she is a staunch Republican who formerly ran a gun shop and enjoys hunting elk, Gilbert considers herself an environmentalist. She views her role as protecting disadvantaged, rural landowners like farmers and ranchers from the state and large energy companies.

“I feel like my reason for participating now is to do what I can to help these poor folks,” Gilbert told ProPublica.

Why does red tape hurt clean energy projects?

The situation in Oregon highlighted the challenges being faced by developers of renewable energy projects across the U.S.

According to the industry group American Clean Power Association, obtaining the necessary approvals for a renewable energy project or transmission line can take up to 10 years. The group has claimed that the failure to reform decades-old permitting systems has put $100 billion of cleaner energy investments and 100 gigawatts of energy production at risk of severe delays or being canceled altogether.

Proponents of permitting reform say that the old system, designed to give citizens a voice when it came to large, complex, potentially dangerous facilities like nuclear power plants, does not reflect the new reality of wind turbines and solar panels.

“The process back in the early ’70s was meant to be a little bit more plodding,” said Oregon state Rep. Ken Helm during an April speech, according to ProPublica. “Now that we are many, many decades past that time, we’re finding that the procedures [Oregon’s Energy Facility Siting Council] operates under are really too slow for the relatively low-risk renewable energy that we’re seeking.”

What’s being done about red tape?

In Oregon, lawmakers have tried for years to streamline the state’s slow and laborious permitting process, widely considered to be one of the most cumbersome in the nation.

For one project aimed at building transmission lines connecting renewable energy plants in Idaho with power-hungry data centers in Oregon, developers had to submit nearly 20,000 pages of documentation, only to be sued by Gilbert after filing its paperwork, ProPublica reported.

Despite stories like this and years of earnest attempts by lawmakers, efforts to enact large-scale reforms to Oregon’s energy permitting system have largely failed, resulting in only minor changes.

In order to streamline permitting and allow renewable energy projects to come online faster and more cheaply, lawmakers at the federal, state, and local levels need to pass comprehensive permit reform measures that allow the public to have a voice while also protecting important projects from being held hostage by a small but vocal minority of activists like Gilbert.

To make a difference, you can use your voice and support political candidates who are in favor of reforming the permitting process for renewable energy projects. You can also reach out to your current elected representatives and let them know where you stand.

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