Will Oregon’s Energy Council Allow a Fracked Gas Developer to Game the System?
A Columbia Riverkeeper investigation uncovered a fracked-gas company attempting to avoid Oregon’s hefty fee on carbon pollution for new power plants. In August 2020, the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC) staff quietly gave the go-ahead for the Perennial Wind Chaser development to begin construction on a road to a 415 MW, gas-fired power plant near Umatilla, OR.
If built, Perennial would quickly become one of Oregon’s top five or six polluters, generating roughly 1 million tons of carbon pollution each year. By spending $250,000 on a road or other parts of the facility, Perennial would officially “begin construction” of the facility—and avoid the state’s new carbon fees.
Check out The Oregonian’s in-depth story, featuring Riverkeeper’s conservation director, Dan Serres.
The Details
Perennial’s sudden move to begin construction—and EFSC staff’s cooperation—would allow a major new climate polluter to avoid Oregon’s hefty fees on climate pollution. Here’s why EFSC must change course:
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The proposed Perennial fracked gas power plant does not have a permit from the Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ). In 2019, EFSC stated, "Perennial would not be able to commence facility construction without a valid DEQ permit” when it granted Perennial an extension on its deadline to begin construction until September 23, 2020. EFSC appears to be reneging on this clear-cut commitment by allowing construction to begin. Additionally, DEQ may never grant a permit for this large potential source of greenhouse gas pollution, creating the possibility of a “road to nowhere.” This is why Oregon's rules prohibit construction on one part of a facility (a road) until a developer has construction rights on all parts of the facility (such as the DEQ permit for the power plant itself).
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The plant does not have a power purchaser. Why start construction with no entity to sell power to?
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Perennial has not completed major pre-construction requirements. In May 2020, Perennial informed EFSC that it had been unable to complete necessary pre-construction surveys. And there are numerous other requirements that Perennial has apparently failed to meet, yet EFSC is poised to allow a “Phase 1” of construction, in clear conflict with the requirements of EFSC’s rules. Additionally, EFSC never described a “Phase 1” when it granted a site certificate for Perennial. However, it did state that Perennial must satisfy many conditions before construction could begin—and those conditions haven’t been fulfilled.
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DEQ paused its review of the Perennial project because Perennial may be drastically redesigning the power plant. Why start construction if plans—and permits—are still up in the air?
Bottomline: EFSC staff appear poised to allow a major new climate polluter to avoid Oregon’s hefty fees on carbon pollution.