PGE plans to nearly triple clean resources by 2030
Oct. 15, 2021
Portland, Ore. – Portland General Electric today shared plans to increase the amount of clean energy it serves to customers and meet its target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from power served to customers by at least 80%¹ by 2030, 90% by 2035 and zero emissions by 2040. Tying together the need for more clean and renewable resources and plans for an upgraded grid to support those resources, PGE today initiated its request for proposals (RFP) public process and filed its inaugural Distribution System Plan (DSP) at the Oregon Public Utility Commission.
“We are taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining an affordable, reliable energy future for everyone,” said Brett Sims, PGE Vice President of Strategy, Regulation and Energy Supply. “Working collaboratively with our stakeholders, we are advancing plans to add more renewables and non-emitting resources and partnering with our customers on building an equitable, two-way electric grid.”
Going Further, Faster To create the clean energy future Oregonians want, PGE estimates by 2030 it will nearly triple the amount of clean and renewable energy serving customers. To achieve the 2030 goal, PGE, in addition to removing coal from its portfolio, will need approximately 1,500 – 2,000 MW of clean and renewable resources and approximately 800 MW of non-emitting dispatchable capacity resources. PGE is working to accelerate its exit from the coal-fired Colstrip plant by the end of 2025. Starting today, together with its customers, PGE is seeking approximately 1,000 MW² of resources by initiating its RFP public process. For customers, PGE expects to bring on approximately 375 - 500 MW of renewable resources, the equivalent of powering an average of 135,000 homes. If beneficial to customers and in balance with affordability, PGE will work with the OPUC to evaluate the opportunity to procure additional clean and renewable resources through this RFP, with a potential target of getting up to 1/3 of the clean resources needed to meet the 2030 emissions reduction target. PGE will also be seeking approximately 375 MW of non-emitting dispatchable capacity resources that can be used on the hottest or the coldest days of the year, which will help ensure continued reliable service is available for all. Brett Sims, PGE Vice President of Strategy, Regulation and Energy Supply, continued, “We hear our customers loud and clear: they want cleaner, greener affordable energy as quickly as possible.” Meeting the 2030 emissions reduction target will take continued thoughtful planning and engagement. In order to more fully bring to life the vision of Oregon’s new clean energy law (HB 2021) and encourage a robust public participation process, PGE also filed today an extension waiver for the next Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which if approved would now be filed for consideration by the OPUC in March 2023.
Partnering with customers PGE is committed to an economy-wide clean energy future in which electricity powers more of our lives. Building this reliable, affordable and equitable future our customers expect will take all of us working together – customers, regulators, stakeholders, technology providers and utilities. By 2030, PGE estimates as much as 25% of the power needed on the hottest and coldest of days could come from customers and distributed energy resources (DERs), such as solar panels, batteries, and electric vehicles. Part One of PGE’s inaugural DSP, filed today, lays out plans to build the grid of the future with its customers, one that supports a two-way energy ecosystem and empowers customers to make energy management choices to support decarbonization. PGE is already partnering with customers to shift energy use away from peak times of demand to help keep energy clean, affordable and reliable. During the June 2021 extreme heat event, PGE worked with customers to save 62 MW of power, equivalent to powering 25,000 homes, through its existing demand response programs. By 2030, PGE aspires to grow its existing flexible load portfolio to upwards of eight times the existing program, equivalent of serving more than 200,000 households. Building an equitable clean energy future will require intentional placement of resources like batteries, EV chargers and solar panels throughout Oregon communities. Our DSP paves the way for innovative, human-centered planning approaches, aligned with community priorities and outcomes that provide equitable access and additional benefits to customers. It presents transparency into the actionable steps we plan to take toward investing in upgrading the grid to accommodate new clean energy resources.
By 2030, PGE anticipates the potential for four times as much distributed solar and storage than today, bringing 500 MW of clean electricity to the grid. There are currently approximately 35,000 electric vehicles in Oregon, and the state has aggressive goals of adding 250,000 registered zero emissions vehicles statewide by 2025 and 1.1 million by 2030. PGE is planning for this significant new load and working to make sure that its system is ready. Through its future DSPs, PGE will share more on the actions it is taking to help pave the way for this transition, including the emerging technology identified through PGE’s Smart Grid Test Bed and how it interacts with the grid.
Today’s filings
PGE made three filings at the OPUC laying out these plans. First, initiating its request for proposals (RFP) 
to procure more renewable and non-emitting resources; second, filing part one of its Distribution System Plan (DSP), which lays out the partnership needed with customers to build the equitable grid of the future and the amount of distributed energy resources anticipated by 2030—and beyond; and third, filing an extension waiver for the next Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) 
, in order to more fully bring to life the vision of Oregon’s new clean energy law (HB 2021) and encourage a more robust public participation process.