Overview

Resources and Consumption

Oregon has few conventional energy resources but is rich in renewable energy potential. The Columbia River in the north and several smaller waterways flowing from the Cascade Mountains give Oregon some of the highest hydroelectric power potential in the United States. Much of the State has considerable wind power potential. The geologically active basin and range country in southern and eastern Oregon, as well as the Cascades in western Oregon, are promising sites for geothermal energy development, with the potential for generating as much as 2,200 MW of electric power. Oregon’s total energy consumption is moderate although the State is a leader in the energy-intensive forest products industry. The transportation sector is the leading energy-consuming sector in Oregon, followed closely by the industrial and residential sectors.

Petroleum

Oregon’s only refinery, which is located in the Portland area and primarily produced asphalt and vacuum gas oil, was shut down in December 2008. The State receives petroleum-based transportation and heating fuels from Washington State and northern California. Tanker trucks from California supply southern Oregon, while ships and barges deliver additional product from San Francisco to the Portland area. The use of oxygenated motor gasoline is required throughout the entire State.

Natural Gas

Oregon receives its natural gas supply by pipeline from Canada and the Rocky Mountain States. The Northwest Pipeline Corp. system supplies the Portland area and western markets, while the Gas Transmission Northwest system line serves the east. Although Oregon has two market hubs along the Gas Transmission Northwest line, they primarily serve California markets. In Oregon, natural gas is principally used for electricity generation, with the industrial and residential sectors, respectively, as the next largest consumers. Over one-third of Oregon households use natural gas as their primary energy source for home heating. A liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facility has been approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission along Oregon’s northwest coast in Bradwood. Two additional LNG import facilities have been proposed along Oregon’s northwest and southwest coast to help meet natural gas demand in the Pacific Northwest, northern California, and northern Nevada regions.

Coal, Electricity, and Renewables

Hydroelectric power dominates the electricity market in Oregon, providing nearly two-thirds of the power generated in the State. Oregon’s four largest electricity generation facilities, all located on the Columbia River, are hydroelectric plants. Smaller hydroelectric plants generate power along several rivers flowing from the Cascade Mountains. Natural gas-fired power plants are located along major gas transmission lines and supply about one-quarter of the electricity market. The Boardman plant in the north central part of the State is Oregon’s lone coal plant and supplies most of the rest of Oregon’s electricity needs. Oregon also imports electricity from coal-fired plants in Utah, Wyoming, and Montana.

Major transmission lines connect Oregon’s electricity grid to California and Washington State, allowing for large interstate energy transfers. One of these transmission systems is the Western Interconnection, which runs from British Columbia and Alberta in Canada through Washington, Oregon, and southern California to the northern part of Baja California, Mexico. The system, also known as the Pacific Intertie, is the largest single electricity transmission program in the United States and covers all or part of 14 states. Although the Pacific Intertie was originally designed to transmit electricity south during California’s peak summer demand season, flow is sometimes reversed overnight and has occasionally been reversed during periods of reduced hydroelectric generation in the Northwest. Nearly one-half of Oregon households use electricity as their main source of energy for home heating.

Oregon utilizes several renewable energy sources and is one of the leading hydroelectric power producers in the Nation. The State is a major producer of wind energy, generating about 4 percent of the Nation’s total. Oregon also generates some electricity from wood and wood waste, and produces smaller amounts of electricity from landfill gas. In June 2007, Oregon adopted a renewable energy portfolio standard requiring the State’s largest utilities to meet 25 percent of their electric load with new renewable energy sources by 2025.