Gov. Tina Kotek signed an executive order fast-tracking that process.<\/a> The governor\u2019s order only went so far.<\/p>\n\u201cWe heard concerns from some developers that the state\u2019s siting timelines established by statute add time and complexity to the process that could prevent some projects from meeting the tax credit deadlines,\u201d Amy Schlusser, climate and energy policy advisor to Gov. Tina Kotek, said during a Tuesday hearing of the House Committee on Climate, Energy and Environment. <\/p>\n
\u201cBy giving these projects the option to get siting approval from the counties in which they\u2019re located, HB 4031 helps to provide an alternative pathway forward for developers that aim to monetize federal tax credits and contribute to Oregon\u2019s clean energy future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Currently, those developers need certification from the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council through a process that can take up to three years. That\u2019s time developers no longer have, Oregon Solar and Storage Industries Association\u2019s executive director Angela Crowley Koch said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen we add on working with utilities to upgrade grid equipment that can take months to years. You add in interconnection agreements with utilities securing a contract for the energy building the project itself, that timeline becomes impossible for some projects,\u201d she told lawmakers during Tuesday\u2019s public hearing. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo this bill will enable some projects to move forward and meet those tax credit deadlines that might not be possible if they had to wait that one to three years for the Facility Siting Council permit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even if Oregon counties move more quickly to approve large wind and solar projects under HB 4031, developers still face tight timelines for approval from agencies not under state control, including the Bonneville Power Administration.<\/p>\n
BPA, a federal agency, owns three-quarters of the Pacific Northwest electrical grid.<\/p>\n
Some projects have been waiting years to begin construction as they wait for BPA. That delay has left hundreds of projects on hold in the region, with many seeing the federal tax credit deadline as the end of the road. <\/p>\n
Republican state Rep.Bobby Levy raised concerns about the proposed legislation at Tuesday\u2019s hearing. She said she worries it could lead to more renewable projects on high-value farmland in rural parts of the state, specifically speaking about Umatilla County. <\/p>\n
She also questioned whether the bill would balance out where these projects are sited across the state. <\/p>\n
\u201cI live in Umatilla County and over the last four or five years, Umatilla, Morrow County has been abundantly overcome with wind and solar, and I\u2019m a farmer rancher,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd so to me the most important part about Umatilla County is that we have very high value farm ground there and we are large producers.\u201d<\/p>\n
People can submit written comments on the legislation until 8 a.m. Thursday<\/a>, ahead of a scheduled work session later that day. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Oregon lawmakers are considering a bill that would fast-track siting and permitting of renewable energy projects. House Bill…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":452765,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,212095,79],"class_list":["post-452764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-oregon-renewable-energy-climate-and-environment-northwest-politics","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=452764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452764\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/452765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=452764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=452764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=452764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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