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In my exclusive post for theEnergyCollective.com this month, I'm going to try something new out: a podcast. It's my first, and while I encountered some unexpected technical hiccups, I hope you enjoy what follows. I'd appreciate your feedback in the comments section. Thanks! - Jesse Jenkins, featured writer, theEnergyCollective.com
Listen to the podcast:
With the 2009 Oregon Legislative session recently coming to a close, Oregon has cemented its status as a pioneer in clean energy and energy efficiency policy. With Oregon's Governor Ted Kulognoski outlining an ambitious clean energy agenda well before the legislative session even began, there was plenty of action on the clean energy and climate front in Salem. Podcast is available below, at the end of the article.
[Oregon Representative Jules Kopel-Bailey]: We’ve absolutely looked across the country, House Bill 2626 [the low-cost loans for energy efficiency and renewable energy legislation sponsored by Representative Bailey], we looked for models in Vermont, Wisconsin, Delaware, California and internationally as well. We ultimately put together a bill that we hope will incorporate the best components of each of the models that are out there.
California has obviously set a national standard in terms of its environmental legislation and we were looking at that. We were also looking internationally. We had a visit during the legislative session from representatives of the government of the United Kingdom who brought members of parliament from both houses to talk to us about the work that the UK has done [on clean energy] and how that has benefited their economy, brought about prosperity as well as help fight climate change. So we were definitely casting a wide net for the best ideas that are out there.
(For those who are not familiar with the Oregon legislature, the legislature meets every other year for full sessions, so the last major session was in 2007 (although there was a brief special session in 2008).)
The 2007 Oregon Legislative Session was a banner year for renewable energy. There were a number of proposals brought forth by Governor Kulongoski and enacted by the Legislature, including a renewable energy standard to ramp up Oregon’s renewable energy generation, tax incentives to encourage businesses and residential customers to invest in renewable energy and efficiency, and efforts to promote local biofuels production. Were you and other clean energy champions in the legislature forced to defend some of the ground gained in the 2007 Session, or were you able to build off of this momentum in 2009?
Well we certainly always have to vigilant and we wanted to ensure that we did not take backwards steps on some of the progress we’ve made. I think that will really be a continuing challenge in every session, to make sure that we are pointing to the successes that we’ve had and how they’ve benefited Oregon’s economy.
We passed a version of a bill that would have scaled back the Business Energy Tax Credit in Oregon. That bill was then defeated by the governor, so that will remain an open issue. We also had bills related to the renewable portfolio standard, so we will also have to ensure that as we go forward we are making sure that the integrity of our renewable portfolio standard is intact. So, it’s always a continuing challenge if you want to make sure that we just take two steps forward and one step back, but to make sure that we’re really taking two full steps forward. And I think this session we were able to do that. I feel very good about the way we’ve come out of this session.
Oregon Governor Kulognoski has been a very enthusiastic partner and leader in the Western Climate Initiative, a region wide effort to cap and reduce greenhouse gas emissions throughout the several Western States and Canadian Provinces, and I think that this session was key in terms of the timeline outlined by the WCI to advance measures in member states. A number of bills were successfully moved forward in Oregon that would help reduce emissions on a sector by sector basis, but with the defeat of SB 80 which would have been Oregon’s effort to cap emissions in line with the WCI proposal, what do you think Oregon’s prospects are for participation in the regional initiative going forward, and what is the status of the partnership at this point?
Well I think we need to have all hands on deck to make sure we get the Markey-Waxman [the American Clean Energy and Security Act] passed at the federal level. This is really one of the most fundamental things that clean energy advocates can do, because we have an opportunity not just to establish a federal cap and trade system of whatever kind, but also to establish a federal renewable portfolio standard, with financing for efficiency and renewable investments that are embedded in that bill. I think that is where we need to put some of our focus as states, even though that’s something that’s happening at the federal level. And to the extend that that bill, which we’ll see in the very near future whether that bill is successful in the Senate, to the extent that that bill is successful, that will I think change the landscape that states are looking at. If it not successful, then I think states have to take a step back and say, OK, well what can we do to create state models that advance the federal efforts. But the Oregon Legislature only meets 6 months every two years, for the regular session, so it won’t be until January 2011 that we meet in the next legislative session, and that’s just too long to wait.
So you are looking to help move things forward on the federal level in the meantime?
Absolutely. I think we’ve seen really remarkable leadership from Senator Jeff Merkley [D-OR], who has worked not only on Markey-Waxman, but on his own proposals that fund renewable energy investments and efficiency. So, giving him the support that he needs where he can act at the federal level is one of the best things that we can do as Oregonians.
You’ve been reaching out to partner directly with Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) on the introduction of proposals that will help fund energy efficiency at the state level and other efforts that are supportive of Oregon’s leadership in energy efficiency and clean energy. Can you tell me what those partnerships are like and what you look for at the federal level to augment and support Oregon’s clean energy efforts?
Well, Senator Merkley is an absolute champion, and what we’ve done on energy efficiency is really a great model of what a federal-state-local partnership can look like. We’ve gotten municipalities in Oregon that are moving aggressively forward on developing the outreach and implementation models for energy efficiency and renewable energy. We’ve had state legislation that will nit that together at a state level [HB 2626] and put some skin in the game from the state. And now we’re working with Senator Merkley to provide federal support in the form of things like federal loan guarantees, direct lending, incentives, direct investment that essentially make it much much easier to take the dollars that are on the table and attract private investment and really grow the size of the pie that we have available for clean energy investment, and that’s what Senator Merkley’s amendment that he got passed on the Senate floor [to the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill] and what the bipartisan efficiency bill he’s introduced with Senator Richard Lugar from Indiana is going to be able to do. So I’ve been very honored to be able to partner with Senator Merkley on this to help show what we’ve done in Oregon. We’re really lucky to have him [in the Senate] working on and taking leadership at the federal level on these kinds of issues.
To change the subject a little bit, with several import terminals proposed on Oregon’s coast,liquefied natural gas has really become a hot button issue in Oregon in recent years. Grassroots opposition is pretty strong and the Oregon Legislature considered legislation this session that would fast track the contentious siting of the pipelines that are needed to bring LNG from coastal terminals to natural gas markets in Oregon’s Willamette Valley cities and even farther, to the big natural gas markets in California, where much of the LNG would ultimately be destined. Can you tell us about this LNG fight and where it now stands?
We had two bills related to [LNG]. We had a bill that I co-sponsored, along with a number of other representatives and senators, that would have put limitations on the ability of the state to site energy facilities [like LNG terminals] and essentially ensure that we are being responsible about how we make our energy investments and whether or not we need LNG in the future. Unfortunately, that bill did not move forward. But the other bill, the bill that you referenced around changing permitting processes for projects that include pipelines, that bill also did not move forward, and I did vote against that legislation on the floor of the House. So that bill was not successful, it did not make it out of the Senate.
So the status of the LNG fight in Oregon is pretty unclear and it’s really up to the grassroots to really get out there and make their voices continually heard. I think they were heard this last session, and [the LNG legislative battles] are the evidence of the impacts grassroots activism can have on local governments. But again, continued vigilance is necessary.
Jules, you hold what I continue to be a distinguished position, as one of the youngest members of the Oregon House of Representatives, is that right?
Second youngest, yes.
Do you have any particular advice for young Oregonians – or others in other states – who are looking to have an impact on the state political process, really engaging at the grassroots level, or are even thinking about running for office themselves someday?
Well, I’ll support the old Nike slogan and say, Just do it!
I’m speaking here to all the folks who are my age and younger – I first ran for office when I was 27 years old, I was elected about the time I was 28 and I’m now coming out of my first legislative session and I’m 29 – and the reality is that this up and coming generation has as much to contribute as anybody. And whether that means you run for office yourself, or you go down to the Capitol and meet with legislatures and you make your voice heard, or you get involved in an organization that is doing work around political involvement – however you choose to do it, or you political standpoint, make your voice heard and go out there and just do it.
I’d personally recommend that your listeners really think about running for office some day. It is a citizen legislature in Oregon and in many states, and it functions only when the citizenry is involved and is not only taking an interest in an expressing their views, but also steps up and runs for office themselves. There’s always a temptation to think, maybe if I wait a little bit long, get a little bit older. You have an opinion, you have a perspective to bring to the table, and you should step up and do it.
So looking ahead, and we’ve got a bit of ways to look ahead, to the 2011 Legislative Session, what do you think will be real battles and efforts to move the ball forward in the next session?
Well, we will also have a special session in February 2010 as well, and I really think that the big issues that will be on the table will depend on the revenue balance, the budget balance that we have that will likely be before the voters in January. If we are able to keep the budget balancing intact and come into the special session, then I think we can have a much more progressive discussion about how we move Oregon forward in February. If those budget measures do not succeed, then we’re going to come into February with a 733 million dollar hole in the budget that we are going to have to figure out how to plug. And that means that a lot of programs that you and I like a lot are going to be on the chopping block.
So for those of you listening who are Oregonians, one of the most important things that you can do as people who care about clean energy, is to get out there and support the budget balancing ballot measures. Because if those don’t go through, it’s going to be very difficult to have a conversation about the next steps on clean energy are going to be.
And I imagine there will be similar stories in states throughout the country. I know that California, where I now live, has faced pretty staggering, multi-billion dollar budget shortfalls, and that’s a story repeated throughout the country putting pressure on efforts to advance clean energy investments on similar measures.
Well thanks Jules, those are all the questions I have, and I’d like to give you a chance to say any closing remarks if you’d like.
Well Jesse, I really appreciate the chance to be on this show. You and I have had a chance to interact in a number of capacities, and I still remember you speech at our Focus the Nation event in Portland [in January 2008]. And really, I’ve just been inspired by the folks that have been out there and have made their voices heard, through Focus the Nation, through grassroots organization. I think you saw the reaction that our top elected officials got at the Focus the Nation event, and that changed the course of what was going to happen in public policy. So it really is true that the people who are the ones who show and make their voices heard, run for office, come to a town hall, go to your state capitol, talk to your legislators – those are the kinds of people who are going to make a big impact.
For everybody who’s taken to time to listen to this rather wonky podcast and my explanation of bills in Oregon, pat yourselves on the back, and go on out there and keep doing what you do.
Well, on behalf of the Energy Collective, thanks Jules for speaking with us. We’ve been speaking this half our or so with State Representative Jules Kopel Bailey from Oregon’s 42ndDistrict in Portland, Oregon. And thanks to our listeners [or readers!]
