Earlier this month, Gov. Kate Brown
signed a landmark bill making Oregon the first state in the country to cut ties with coal-fired
power.
The new law requires that Portland General
Electric (PGE) and Pacific Power — who together serve 70 percent of the
state’s electricity needs — phase out coal-fired power by 2030 and
serve half their customers’ demand with renewable energy by 2040.
Though environmental
advocates — and everyone’s favorite Oscar winner — laud the new
law as a forward-thinking compromise from a group of unlikely
bedfellows, others have expressed concerns about the costs and efficacy of
the legislation.
