According to Mayor Sam Adams,Portland receives 68 percent of its power from non-renewable fossil fuels and over 44 percent is produced by coal. A great deal of that coal-fired power generation originates in the Rocky Mountains.
Oregon’s only coal-fired electric power plants is located in Boardman, Oregon. It is the state’s largest stationary source of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and other pollutants including mercury.
PGE owns 65 percent of the Boardman coal-fired power plant and is seeking to submit an alternative operating plant that would phase out the facility or switch to non-coal fuel by 2020.
In January, Adams announced his support of PGE’s work to rethink the coal-fired energy facility, “I support PGE’s commitment to closing Boardman by 2020, or sooner if viable. and I want to reiterate that the City of Portland is willing to help PGE achieve this goal. I look forward to continuing to be involved in the IRP process and applaud PGE’s willingness to revisit the Boardman issue.”
For more on this issue: Portland Sustainable Living Examiner
