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Help Stop
New Natural Gas Power Plants!

Portland General Electric is proposing to build two new huge natural gas power plants at the Carty Generating Station to power the City of Portland!

We want the Public Utility Commission (PUC) to reject PGE’s proposal for more fossil fuel power and instead call on them to build more renewable energy like wind and solar!

Comments to the PUC are due May 12th, click here to submit!

Talking Points
- Carty gas-fired power plants would lock Oregon into decades of climate disruption at a time when solar and wind power are viable options and more affordable than ever.
- Future gas prices are highly unpredictable; wind and solar power eliminate the expense of fuel entirely. Building more gas-fired power plants is a risky proposition for PGE’s customers and shareholders.
- PGE has proposed a 20-year plan favoring gas-fired power plants, rejecting plans which rely almost exclusively on renewables like wind and solar even though independent analysis shows that investing in wind and solar is better for customers and better for workers.
- Portland has recently banned new fossil fuel infrastructure; building new infrastructure to power Oregon’s largest city doesn’t make sense.
More Talking Points
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More Talking Points
- If PGE’s proposed gas plants are built, the Carty generating station would be largest GHG emitter in Oregon after Boardman closes.
- Carty 2 & 3 would release about 2 million tons of CO2 annually - up to 7 million tons when upstream methane leakage is factored in.
- Overall, the Carty facility would consume 230 million cubic feet of natural gas - about ⅓ of Oregon’s daily gas consumption.
- We’ve nearly used up the global carbon budget. We can’t afford decades more of fossil fuels greenhouse gas pollution.
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I strongly urge you to deny PGE’s proposed energy plan because it favors building unnecessary gas-fired power plants, and fails to adequately evaluate renewable energy resources to replace the retiring Boardman coal plant. Building new gas-fired power plants would lock Oregon into decades of climate-disrupting fossil fuel energy and unpredictable gas prices - at a time when clean energy sources like wind and solar are more affordable than ever. This is a bad deal for PGE customers and a step backward for Oregon. Portland has just moved to stabilize the climate by banning new fossil fuel infrastructure, but PGE’s plan moves us farther away from meeting Oregon’s climate goals. Building new methane-burning power plants now simply doesn’t make sense - for PGE or the planet.
Please direct PGE to revise its plan by investing in clean energy sources like wind and solar instead of rushing ahead to commit Oregon to risky gas-fired power plants.

Sincerely,
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STOP the Carty Gas Plants!

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June Climate Science News Roundup

July 20, 2017/in Climate Science /by Adriana Voss-Andreae

It’s increasingly clear that action on climate change in the United States must happen at the local and grassroots level, rather than the federal level. With that in mind, it’s more important than ever that we stay up to date on developments in climate science. This month’s climate science round-up seeks to arm us all with accurate and effective information so that we can work together to save our planet.

This year has been the 2nd warmest year on record in the United States so far

This year, the average temperature has been 3.4 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th century average, making it the second-warmest first-half of the year on record. (2012 was 1.2 degrees Fahrenheit warmer.) This year the U.S. has also experienced a near-record number of billion-dollar disasters, including two floods, a freeze, and six severe storms, which collectively caused 57 fatalities.

U.S. reports a major milestone in wind and solar power

Ten percent of all electricity generated in the U.S. in March came from wind and solar power, according to a new U.S. Energy Information Administration report. This is the first time this milestone has been hit, and the EIA estimates that wind and solar farms likely generated 10 percent of America’s electricity in April as well. A decade ago, less than one percent of all U.S. electricity came from wind or solar annually.

Jet biofuel may reduce climate-warming clouds

NASA is studying the use of biofuel in jets to see if it would increase or decrease contributions to climate change. A recent study shows that biofuel produces fewer and smaller soot particles than standard jet fuel. That creates fewer opportunities for planet-insulating contrails to form. However, biofuel also produces more water vapor than standard jet fuel, which may in fact lead it to create more contrail rather than less. NASA plans to continue this research in order to build more reliable models.

Climate change is likely to increase forest fires

Wildfires have been increasing in number in recent years, and a recent study shows lightning has been the main driver. Higher temperatures spur more thunderstorms, which in turn ignite forests. Researchers also found that the fires are creeping farther north, near the transition from boreal forests to Arctic tundra.

Increasing probability of mortality during heat waves

Rising global temperatures are causing increases in the frequency and severity of extreme climatic events, such as floods, droughts, and heat waves. A new study in Science shows that the increase in average summer temperatures in India corresponds to an increase in the probability of heat-related mortality events. This in turn suggests that future climate warming will lead to substantial increases in heat-related mortality, particularly in developing low-latitude countries.

World’s largest wind turbine would be taller than the Empire State Building

An alliance of six institutions led by researchers at the University of Virginia are designing the world’s largest wind turbine at 500 meters tall. Larger wind turbines are more cost-effective because the wind blows stronger and more steadily at greater altitudes. Longer turbine blades can also catch the wind more efficiently.

Longform feature: Watts in the water

Close to 200 trillion watts of kinetic energy lurk in the seas — more than enough to power the planet, if we could somehow extract it all.

Edited by Elizabeth Weinberg. Have a climate science tip? Send it to climate-science@350pdx.org.

Citizen Groups Vow to Keep Pushing For Fossil Fuel Policy in Portland: LUBA’s Decision Upholds Challenge

July 19, 2017/in Fossil Fuel Resistence, News /by mia

July 19, 2017 (Salem, OR) – Today, the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) ruled that Portland’s Fossil Fuel Terminal Zoning Amendments, passed unanimously in December of 2016, is inconsistent with the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Portland’s fossil fuel policy intended to prevent new major fossil fuel infrastructure projects in the City. LUBA dismissed many of the other arguments brought by the oil industry and the Portland Business Alliance against the City’s policy. LUBA’s ruling is likely to be appealed to the State Court of Appeals.

Oregonians tell PGE to abandon the expansion of the Carty Generating Plant

July 7, 2017/in Fossil Fuel Resistence /by Guest Author

We can no longer deny climate change. We know that there are solutions to our fossil fuel dependency. These changes will mean transforming our energy system. – Liz Trojan

This past December, PGE filed for an amended site certificate that would permit them to build two new natural gas power plants at the Carty Generating Plant in Boardman, OR. The Energy Facility Siting Commission (EFSC) has to grant the site certificate in order for PGE to begin construction.

We asked the community to tell PGE how they felt about the request and how expanding the capacity of the plant to use dirty fossil fuels would affect them. The response we got was overwhelming.

Over 300 concerned community members told 350PDX how they felt. Their appeals to PGE were personal, well-informed, and got straight to the point – Oregonians value the PNW’s natural environment and they want to protect it.

Here are just a few comments that articulated exactly how Oregonians feel about PGE’s request:

As a Portland resident, I do not want to have coal fired power replaced with gas. We should replace Boardman’s output with a combination of renewable energy and storage. Please deny this application. – – Concerned Community Member

We should be planning for the future in reality by transitioning to green energy, not more fossil fuel infrastructure. Our future depends on it! – Phyllis Richardson

Please consider the future impact of natural gas use and production. There is plenty of evidence already —despite attempts to cover it up—that it destroys precious water supplies that are likely impossible to restore. It is already an agreed upon fact that fossil fuel use has caused, and will continue to cause, climate change. “Natural” gas is NOT ecologically friendly and never will be again. Let us use the resources for building this plant and instead build clean energy facilities that will not only actually be useful in the future, but will help ensure our future. Thank you for reading and please consider the future of our species. – Joe Anderson

Oregonians care about their communities and the environment. They believe gas and electric companies must be held accountable for their actions and consider the impact they have on the environment and communities they operate in. I, along with countless Portland residents, call upon the EFSC to deny PGE’s application for the proposed expansion of natural gas-fired power plants at the Carty Generating Station.

UPDATE: In March, due to public pressure from people like you, PGE suspended their requests for permits for two fracked gas plants (Carty Generating Plants 2 and 3 in Boardman, 150 miles east of Portland.) They are considering other sources of energy including renewables, natural gas and hydro contracts, and the purchase of an existing natural gas plant. We need to keep a close eye on them, the fight over the Carty Generating Plants isn’t quite over! Add your name to stop the Carty gas plants by adding a comment through our comment form.

Good News! PGE publicly supported the city of Portland’s and Multnomah County’s new 100% renewable resolutions passed June 1, the day Trump announced his plans to withdraw from the Paris agreement. These resolutions take a strong position against new gas-fired power plants and other fossil fuel infrastructure, and are considered a model for other cities around the country.

Put August 8th on your calendar for one last public hearing in Salem at 9:30 AM before the Public Utility Commission. More information to follow.

Are you passionate about saving our environment? Fill out a volunteer form here to get involved in the work 350PDX is doing to halt climate change in its tracks.

Written by: Nicole Metildi

Confronting the Whiteness of Environmentalism

June 29, 2017/in just Transition /by Rachel Levelle

People’s Climate March 2017

Climate justice means hard work.

It’s tempting to assign labels or catchphrases to movements. The concept of climate justice or environmental justice has gained massive traction in organizing groups, but as easy as it is to put “climate justice” on a banner, it’s even easier to lose sight of what it really means.