The Oregon Climate Action Commission and Oregon Department of Energy established natural and working lands net carbon sequestration goals for the state during the commission’s meeting on July 17, 2026.

Commission meeting on August 14 and upcoming committee meetings for 2026 Report to Legislature.

In this month's newsletter, ODOE submits our 2027-2029 Agency Request Budget, celebrates the first completed project supported by our Grid Resilience Grant Program, shares concerns about Hanford site waste transport, reminds Oregonians about our heat pump incentive programs, shares a letter supporting BPA leadership compensation, publishes a new Grounded episode, and more.

The Commission has formed four committees to help inform policy recommendations and guide work on its 2026 Biennial Report to the Legislature.

Recently, Forest Grove completed a project to move two-thirds of a mile of a main electricity line underground. Turning on the newly underground lines marked the first completed project through the Oregon Department of Energy’s Grid Resilience Grant Program.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of Oregon’s Energy Facility Siting Council will be held on Friday, July 24, 2026.

On July 1, 2026, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Hanford Field Office released an update on its ongoing plans for where and how to treat, transport, and dispose of millions of gallons of radioactive and chemically hazardous tank waste from the west-area tank farms at Hanford. In its letter, U.S. DOE reports that it has decided to not, at this time, construct the facilities necessary to solidify and grout tank waste at the Hanford site. This decision leaves open the option for U.S. DOE to ship radioactive tank waste in liquid form through Oregon. We reiterate Oregon’s long-held position that it is unacceptable for liquid radioactive Hanford tank waste to be transported through our state.

The Oregon Climate Action Commission will hold a virtual meeting from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on July 17, 2026.

In this episode of Grounded, we’re joined by two electric utility providers in different areas of Oregon – Portland General Electric and Coos-Curry Electric Cooperative – to discuss how they are planning for an increasing number of electric vehicles plugging into their networks.

In this month's newsletter, ODOE shares swift success for a new round of solar + storage rebates, begins accepting applications for Building Performance Standard incentives, seeks comments on draft reports on siting and permitting large-scale electricity infrastructure as well as natural and working lands goal setting, publishes a new Grounded episode, announces a July 15 public budget meeting, and more.