Government thresholds have become a commonly used tool in the pursuit of a cleaner energy mix that is less dependent on fossil fuels. Otherwise known as renewable energy portfolio standards (RPS), they require utilities in a given state to obtain a minimum percentage of their energy from renewable sources. According to the U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA), thirty states have an enforceable RPS in place.

Recently, the state of Oregon turned heads by more than tripling its RPS, joining Hawaii, Vermont and California with one of the highest thresholds in the country.

In March, Gov. Kate Brown signed Senate Bill 1547, requiring PacifiCorp and Portland Generation Electric, the state’s two large investor-owned utilities, to supply 50 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2040. Previously, the threshold was set at 15 percent. The law also requires them to phase out electricity from coal by 2030. Together, the two utilities account for almost two-thirds of the state’s electricity load.

One other provider, Eugene Water & Electric Board, a consumer-owned utility that accounts for about five percent of the state’s electricity load, must now meet an RPS target of 25 percent by 2025 and maintain that level through the year 2040. The RPS for the other 37 small and medium-sized utilities that operate in Oregon will remain at either five or ten percent through 2025, depending on the percentage share of the load they contribute.

According to the EIA, the new standard will be a boon for generation from renewable sources. The agency reports that Oregon has relatively favorable wind resources, and wind power has made up most of the capacity added in Oregon since 1995. Consequently, wind power is likely to be among the most common sources of new electric capacity in the state.

Not everyone is singing the praises of the new law. In an interview with the online publication Utility Dive, Travis Kavulla, president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), predicted that the law won’t actually reduce carbon emissions because it has no provision for the utilities to shut down their existing coal fired plants. Oregon imports more than 30 percent of its electricity from coal-fired power plants located in Utah, Wyoming, and Montana.

"Presumably, those utilities will simply reallocate their coal plants to customers in other states or engage some swapping behavior so the conscience of Oregonians can be clear," he said.