Clean Energy Transition

Context

The power grid is an essential piece of infrastructure in Portland that must become robust enough to handle electrification, that must transition to run on only clean energy, and that needs strong policies in place so the energy transition is also affordable and equitable. Many issues need to be addressed regarding the electricity supply. Both consumer-side and supply-side need to be taken into consideration when it comes to energy affordability, the construction of new infrastructure, and how the utilities that supply our energy are regulated. At present, the City of Portland is aiming for 100% renewable energy in PGE territory by 2030. There are also goals of expanding onsite and community-owned solar projects. Additionally, with a projected 30% increase in energy demand in Oregon in the next 10 years, Portland feels the need to expand both energy generation and transmission.

As Portland looks to expand and upgrade its grid, it is imperative that the work is done to a high standard and with minimal environmental impact, the laborers working on our grid are supported, energy is affordable for vulnerable populations, and utilities are held to account. 

Actions

1. Ban data centers. Data centers use enormous amounts of power and water, and are becoming a threat to Oregon’s goal of running on 100% clean energy by 2040. “Small” data centers are already requiring enough power to run 56,000 homes or 60,000 cars for a year, plus enough water for 2,500 households (Columbia Riverkeeper report). Companies are planning to build hyperscaled data centers, which would require even more power and water, enough to power a million homes.
   1. Unless and until data centers can run off of a sustainable, zero emissions energy source, they should not be allowed to come online.
   2. Data centers employ few people and cause noise pollution. They increase the nearby temperature by 2°C, causing heat islands for up to 6 miles. This is an environmental justice issue.
   3. The POWER Act (HB 3546) passed in 2025, which helps make sure utilities do not charge data centers at the same rates as residential ratepayers, but the rulemaking for this bill must be strong in order to protect Portlanders from paying for the increased energy consumption. 
   4. City Council should ban data centers until these and other concerns regarding climate, environmental justice, and affordability can be effectively regulated, and work with other municipalities and levels of government to widen the ban across the region.
2. Support for Energy Workers’ Unions. It is vitally important that Portland has a skilled workforce to help build out a clean grid and maintain both utility infrastructure and energy-efficient home systems. City Council can support this through:
   1. Support of labor unions and union models in the energy-efficient workforce, including apprenticeship, all-rounder training (which lets clean energy workers navigate economic swings by being able to transfer to what is in high demand). 
   2. Develop pre-apprenticeship programs or mandate and fund these programs at community colleges. Pre-apprenticeship programs assist workers who do not yet have necessary skills to apply for an apprenticeship.
   3. Require contractor and workforce standards for energy efficiency and clean energy projects — this will guarantee that the work is done to a high standard. This can include standard skill and specialized certifications.
   4. Require entry-level jobs in energy efficiency and clean energy to pay a living wage and provide pathways for advancement. 
   5. Develop and fund workforce re-training so workers in other energy sectors can transition to clean energy jobs. This includes funding training about emergent technologies. 
   6. Create a fund to protect, support, and compensate workers in fossil fuel industries who lose jobs due to the energy transition, including wage subsidies, healthcare, early retirement/pension, retraining costs, peer counseling services, job placement services, relocation expenses, priority hiring in the clean energy sector, and so forth. 
   7. Policies for union labor standards, apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, and job training should include broadening opportunities for workers who have been historically marginalized in the energy workforce, including BIPOC, women, queer workers, formerly incarcerated workers, and so forth.
3. Keeping Energy Affordable. A key part of an equitable transition is keeping energy affordable for ratepayers. Access to utilities should not come with a financial burden for those already struggling.
   1. Assist low-income Portlanders in accessing bill assistance through automatic enrollment of SNAP and Medicaid users in bill assistance programs, or create a progressive rate system for electricity, where bills are proportional to income.
   2. Pass a policy at the City or State level similar to the 2025 bill that did not pass at the Oregon legislature, SB 88: “Get the Junk Out of Rates.” This would ensure that ratepayers do not pay for utilities’ expenses associated with advertising, political influence activity, litigation, penalties or fines, and certain compensation, and instead these would come out of shareholder payments and company profits.
   3. Institute publicly owned utilities instead of investor owned utilities. Public power utilities have been shown to be more affordable and reliable for ratepayers, as they don’t have the incentive to hike prices like monopoly investor-owned utilities. An example of a nonprofit utility company that is aiming for 100% renewable energy is San Diego Community Power.
4. Stronger Utility Regulation. Utility regulation increases energy affordability and incentivizes energy efficiency. 
   1. Performance-based Regulation: SB 688 passed at the state level in 2025, allowing the Public Utility Commission to use incentives and penalties to induce electric companies to bring electric utility operations in line with the public interest. City Council should work in partnership with the PUC to ensure regulations incentivize access to clean energy and affordability, without overpowering the grid with massive and unnecessary power users such as data centers.
   2. “Decoupling” separates profits earned by the utility companies from the amount of energy they supply. Decoupling encourages energy efficiency, as utilities are not paid based on the amount of energy used. A transition to publicly owned (consumer-owned) utilities would also work to better regulate cost and efficiency, as a lack of profit incentive produces fewer conflicts of interest between utilities and the public; there are some consumer-owned utilities in the Portland area, but they serve a minority of the population.
   3. Work with other municipalities and levels of government to create a transmission authority that will prioritize clean energy and ratepayer affordability, and will minimize environmental damage. Ensure transmission corridors, permitting, and siting will benefit the public and the environment while building out grid capacity.
5. Building Out the Grid. As Portland moves away from fossil fuels, the grid will need to be built out in order to keep up with energy demand. 
   1. Create policies that encourage and incentivize more community solar, which is a system where a local solar farm is shared between many members, including homeowners, renters, and local businesses. Utilities need to be held accountable for collaboration with community solar groups, and the process needs to be streamlined. 
   2. Develop a better vetting process regarding community solar, as there is a history of for-profit companies taking advantage of community solar in the past by going through nonprofit shell corporations. We need to ensure that community solar is serving the groups who need it rather than benefiting megacorporations. 
   3. Incorporate harm reduction policies in fossil fuel-based energy systems until these systems are replaced, including abatement of natural gas leakage, which is necessary to reduce the release of greenhouse gases such as methane. 
   4. Refuse purchase of energy from sources that produce greenhouse gases.
6. Avoid “Renewable” Fuels. “Biofuels” falsely advertise themselves as clean energy since plants are a “renewable” resource, but when life cycle analyses are taken into account, these are generally not beneficial to stopping climate change.
   1. City Council must create a timeline and step by step plan regarding when and how the City of Portland will transition to clean energy rather than use “renewable” biofuels. This will avoid greenwashing and ensure a dedication to climate justice.
7. Prioritize community and climate resilience. In the event of emergencies or climate disasters, Portland needs to be prepared to support our most vulnerable populations. 
   1. Plan resilience hubs in each neighborhood, or 15-minute walking distance from each Portland resident. Ensure access to electricity through solar (or other sustainable power source) and backup batteries. This will be lifesaving for people with disabilities who require electricity for medical equipment (such as a power wheelchair, screen reading software, or refrigeration of medicine). Resilience hubs should also serve as life-saving warming and cooling shelters during extreme weather. 
   2. Incentivize microgrids and home battery storage. Microgrids are standalone power grids that can be connected to the grid, but can switch to run independently. This allows a building or set of connected buildings to isolate from the grid and continue to operate during power outages.
   3. Encourage development of Neighborhood Emergency Teams, community networks of care that are prepared with relationships and practical tools to help neighbors during emergencies.
   4. Emergency power must be routed to people over massive energy users such as data centers in the event of an emergency.

Important Stakeholders

• 350PDX
• Columbia Riverkeeper
• Oregon Citizens’ Utility Board
• Oregon Environmental Council
• Renewable Northwest
• Lewis & Clark Green Energy Institute
• Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians
• Oregon Just Transition Alliance
• Climate Solutions
• BlueGreen Alliance
• Community Energy Project
• NW Energy Coalition
• Verde

Case Studies

“Climate Action Plans.” Zero Energy Project.

• Climate action plans from other cities

Detroit Walker-Miller. https://wmenergy.com/.

• BIPOC + woman-owned energy efficiency company

“Intervenor compensation in California: Article 5. Intervenor’s Fees and Expenses [1801 – 1812].” California Legislative Information. 

Oregon Community Solar Program. https://www.oregoncsp.org/monthly-reports/. 

“San Diego Climate Action Plan.” City of San Diego.

“San Francisco Climate Action Plan.” City of San Francisco.

Citations

“Climate and Health Standards for Existing Buildings.” Bureau of Planning and Sustainability. City of Portland.

“Climate Justice Plan.” Office of Sustainability. Multnomah County. 2025.

“Bimonthly Project Reports.” Oregon Community Solar.

Marinoni, Andrea & Lio, Pietro & Cambria, Erik & Dal Zilio, Luca & Lin, Weisi & Mura, Mauro & Chanussot, Jocelyn & Ragusa, Edoardo & Mengaldo, Gianmarco & Tso, Chi & Zhu, Yihao & Horton, Benjamin, “The data heat island effect: quantifying the impact of AI data centers in a warming world,” preprint (2026), DOI: 10.48550/arXiv.2603.20897. 

“On the Frontlines of Climate Change: Voz Environment and Justice Framework.” City of Portland. October 2017.

“Oregon Energy Strategy.” State of Oregon. November 2025.

Petrucci, Larissa. Union Apprenticeships Provide a Critical Pathway to More Diverse Construction Industry. Labor Education & Research Center. University of Oregon. N.d.

Public Utility Commission. Community Solar Proposal: Docket No. UM 1930 – Community Solar Program – Staff Draft Proposal for Expansion of Carveout Capacity and Request for Comment.

“Rate of Return Equals Cost of Capital.” American Economic Liberties Project. 2025.

Rogelberg, Sasha. “Data centers are so hot their ‘heat island’ effect is raising temperatures up to 6 miles away and impacting 343 million people worldwide, study finds.” Fortune. April 1, 2026. 

“Western States Weigh Transmission Authorities to Strengthen the Grid.” National Caucus of Environmental Legislators. April 3, 2025.

“Workforce Issues and Energy Efficiency Programs: A Plan for California’s Utilities.” University of California Berkeley Labor Center.

Zabin, Carol, Jessie H. F. Hammerling, Megan Emiko Scott, and Betony Jones. Putting California on the High Road: A Jobs and Climate Action Plan for 2030. University of California Berkeley Labor Center. May 8, 2014.