Governor Kotek signs executive order to speed clean energy transition; Republican lawmaker calls it a costly, bad deal for families

SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) - Governor Tina Kotek signed Executive Order 25-29 on Wednesday saying the goal is "to increase the pace and scale of Oregon’s response to reducing carbon pollution while strengthening grid reliability and energy affordability."

On Thursday, Republican state Senator David Brock Smith of Port Orford fired back, saying the governor's move will just push more unaffordability onto working families.

Here are both news releases, in full:

"Oregon faces escalating climate impacts, from record wildfires to extreme weather events that hit vulnerable communities hardest. Meanwhile, we must continue to make progress on our carbon pollution reduction goals and support reliable, affordable clean energy,” Governor Kotek said. “This order outlines actions to reduce emissions through strategic electrification, efficiency improvements, and deployment of clean energy infrastructure that simultaneously fight climate change, strengthen grid reliability, and deliver more affordable energy for communities across our state."

“This executive order moves Oregon from strategy to action, charting the course toward a cleaner, healthier, and more resilient Oregon,” Nora Apter, Oregon Director for Climate Solutions said. “We’re not waiting for federal leadership; Oregon is leading the way. This executive action sets the stage for continued progress and future legislative action to remove barriers and accelerate the deployment of solutions. In an era where we already have extreme drought and wildfires hurting our state, we need a little less talk, and a lot more action. Governor Kotek’s executive order delivers in spades.”

“Renewable Northwest is pleased to see the Governor center a reliable, affordable and clean energy future for the state through issuance of this executive order,” Nicole Hughes, Executive Director of Renewable Northwest said. “We are eager to support state agencies in identifying ways to streamline permitting to ensure critical electricity infrastructure is built to meet the growing demands of Oregon’s utility customers and businesses.”

“The Governor’s Executive Order – driving public-private collaboration, coordinated agency action, and accountability – lays out opportunities for job creation in Oregon companies ranging from high-tech innovators to manufacturers to local contractors,” Tim Miller, Director of Oregon Business For Climate said. “This EO points Oregon back toward leadership and economic opportunities, all while addressing our top climate action strategies.”

Overall, Executive Order 25-29 will:

Advance Implementation of the Oregon Energy Strategy:
Executive branch agencies identified in the order are directed to adopt and implement greenhouse gas reduction strategies and coordinate decisions, activities, and investments as appropriate to advance the five least-cost pathways identified in the Oregon Energy Strategy. As appropriate, agencies will modify or add to current work plans and performance indicators to track and report on implementation activities to achieve this directive.

Get Clean Energy Projects Built:
Agencies are directed to develop and implement a coordinated, proactive approach to streamline land use and environmental reviews, siting and permitting, and interconnection processes for clean energy projects, energy storage, and associated infrastructure. The Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) and the Public Utility Commission (PUC) will develop a strategic framework for the Legislature to designate transmission corridors, streamline approvals, and target financial support for projects serving the public interest. This work is intended to complement the directive under Executive Order 25-25.

Cultivate a Resilient, Clean Energy Economy: 
State agencies will explore and prioritize public-private partnerships for clean energy technologies that support state priorities, reporting opportunities to leadership for review. Agencies with expertise in energy, environmental quality, business development, utility regulation, and geology will collaborate to identify opportunities for advanced carbon-free technologies like enhanced geothermal, offshore wind, and energy storage in Oregon's clean energy transition.

Ensure Transparency and Accountability in Implementation:
Building on the transparency and accountability implementation structure established in Governor Kotek’s EO 25-26, this order will streamline existing programs and focus resources to create a coordinated approach for tracking climate action and resilience.

See the text of Executive Order 25-29 here.

See an accompanying Frequently Asked Questions document here.

ODOE’s Energy Strategy Executive Summary can be found here.

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Governor Kotek’s Latest Executive Order on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Pushes More Unaffordability onto Working Families

SALEM, Ore. – Today, Senator David Brock Smith (R-Port Orford), vice chair of the Senate Committee on Energy & Environment, rebuked Governor Kotek’s EO that will increase costs for Oregon families while putting more of them at risk during inclement weather.

“The Oregon Energy Strategy rolled out this week from ODOE is incomplete, and Governor Kotek’s EO 25-29 is not only authoritarian, but it will also drive up costs for every Oregonian across the state while doing nothing to impact global greenhouse gas emissions,” said Senator Brock Smith.

A recent report by the nonpartisan public policy nonprofit Discovery Institute calculated the costs of Oregon and Washington’s ambitious GHG reduction goals at $1 trillion. You can view their in-depth presentation HERE.

Oregon produces less than 0.14% of greenhouse gas emissions on the global scale, according to data from the Oregon Global Warming Commission. The Director of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality was asked during the Joint Committee on Carbon Reduction: What impact would be had if Oregon were to have zero GHG emissions? His response: “Senator Brock Smith, you are correct that Oregon's portion of global carbon emissions is, I'll use the word minuscule.”  When Dr. Philip Mote, Director of Oregon Climate Services and the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute, was asked, he responded the impact would be “imperceptible.”

“As Governor Kotek and her Democrat supermajority continue to make the cost of energy in Oregon more expensive, they are also putting more families at risk during severe weather events,” said Senator Brock Smith. “The Governor’s EO 25-29 and EO creating the Climate Protection Program, the recent Oregon Energy Strategy, and her Democrat supermajority’s legislative policies attack reliable and affordable clean energy like natural gas, which is critically important for generating electricity to balance load.

"This is especially true during severe weather events. During severe heat events, natural gas is needed to produce more electricity to cool homes, businesses, and shelter centers. During severe cold weather, natural gas is desperately needed to not only heat these same homes, businesses, and warming shelters with reliable gas furnaces, but it is also necessary to produce electricity to handle increased electrical load for those without natural gas.”

“Additionally, forcing the electrification of all energy through ever increasing costs on reliable natural gas, puts the health, life, and safety of Oregonians at risk. During the last ice storm, tens of thousands of Oregon families were without power for days, if not weeks, due to downed power lines. This may be why Governor Kotek is having natural gas upgrades installed at her residence, Mahonia Hall. The media reported today that Lane Transit District invested $30 million in electric buses 6 years ago, and is already phasing them out due to battery problems, unreliability, and costs.”

“If the Governor and her Democrat supermajority are truly interested in reducing GHG emissions, they would stop coddling their environmental for-profit nonprofit special interests and join together in sustainably managing our greatest carbon sequestration asset—and, due to lack of management, the greatest emitter—our forests. Oregonians produce a little over 60 MMT of anthropogenic emissions annually, while our natural and working lands sequester more than we emit. Oregon forests and their products alone sequester more than half of the total emissions produced by Oregonians. Adding other natural and working lands, such as wheat, nursery, and grass seed, that sequestration could be greater than what is produced.

We have the knowledge and expertise to manage our forest resources sustainably, mitigating wildfire, creating needed wood products and jobs, growing our rural economies, while reducing the costs for the backbone supplies needed for housing. These actions alone would not only reduce GHG emissions more effectively than the Governor’s costly EO, but they would also bring down costs and grow Oregon’s economy across all sectors, rather than perpetuate the continued decline under her and her Democrat supermajority’s leadership,” concluded Senator Brock Smith.

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Senator David Brock Smith represents Senate District 1, which includes Curry, Coos and Douglas Counties, Southwest Oregon’s Fish, Farm & Forestry District. This press release and an archive of previous press releases issued by Senator David Brock Smith’s office are available on the web at: www.oregonlegislature.gov/smithd