March 2026 Newsletter

In this month's newsletter, we celebrate Oregon's future energy experts, look back at the 2026 legislative session, discuss fuel supply and pricing, practice our emergency response, seek comments on greenhouse gas reduction measures, publish a new Grounded episode, and more.

Read More
Oregon’s 2026 Legislative Session Comes to a Close

As part of our agency mission and vision, the Oregon Department of Energy carefully watched the 2026 legislative session, which opened February 2 and closed March 6. So that our work in the future is well-informed, we paid attention to all legislation that touches the energy sector. We provided information on energy topics to ensure informed decisions about legislation and legislative action. In addition, we followed bills that could affect our own work and were engaged in conversations about our agency budget.

Read More
ODOE Activates Agency Operations Center for Annual Emergency Exercise

On March 24, 2026, the Oregon Department of Energy participated in one of its annual nuclear emergency exercises. This year’s exercise involved a “hostile act” scenario at the Columbia Generating Station. In the scenario, CGS alerted Oregon of explosions on site that could affect the safety of the plant. Over the course of the exercise, our experts discussed risks to Oregon and potential actions residents in Morrow or Umatilla counties would need to take to stay safe.

Read More
Fueling Up in Oregon: Supply & Pricing

Recent local and national headlines have highlighted what many Oregonians are experiencing when they stop to get gas: prices have increased at the pump. International and national actions are affecting prices across the country, including here in Oregon. While Oregonians are seeing fuel costs go up, the state does not expect to experience any fuel shortages. Learn more about our supply and pricing.

Read More
Grounded Podcast Episode 53: Fueling EVs in rural Oregon

On this episode of Grounded, we’re joined by Jillian DiMedio, ODOE Senior Energy Policy Analyst to discuss the availability and reliability of chargers in Oregon. We’re also joined by Steve Gutmann, co-founder of EVmath, and Robert Wallace, executive director of Wy’East RC&D, to discuss the challenges and benefits of EVs and charging in rural Oregon.

Read More
Oregon’s Future Energy Experts Compete in Oregon Coast Renewable Energy Challenge

On March 12, the Oregon Department of Energy was proud to sponsor the 2026 Oregon Coast Renewable Energy Challenge at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. Students from public elementary and middle schools along the coast created their own renewable solar, wind, or wave energy devices to compete for best design.

Read More
ODOE Seeks Public Comments on Draft Gap Measures and Scenarios for TIGHGER 2.0 Project

The Oregon Department of Energy is seeking public comments related to the Transformational Integrated Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction 2.0 project. The TIGHGER 2.0 Project aims to assess Oregon’s progress toward meeting the greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals.

Read More
February 2026 Newsletter

In this month's newsletter, ODOE announces 24 Community Renewable Energy Grant awardees, recipients of early action and planning grants for Oregon's Building Performance Standard, launches a second incentive program for Oregon's BPS, opens a public comment period for two Executive Order 25-29 efforts, shares ODOE's 2025 by the numbers for incentive programs, publishes a new Getting Grounded episode, and more.

Read More
ODOE Awards $834,000 in Incentives to Support Early Planning for Oregon Building Performance Standard

The Oregon Department of Energy has selected 50 recipients to receive about $834,000 in Early Compliance Action and Planning Program incentives. The incentives will help building owners offset costs of early planning activities associated with Building Performance Standard compliance, such as energy benchmarking and reporting or conducting an energy audit.

Read More
ODOE Now Accepting Applications for New Building Performance Standard Incentive

The Oregon Department of Energy is now accepting applications for the new Building Energy Reduction Incentive Program. This voluntary, early compliance incentive program encourages building owners to meet Oregon Building Performance Standard compliance requirements ahead of schedule.

Read More
Oregon Department of Energy Grants Support Renewable and Resilient Energy Development from Canyonville to Cascade Locks

The Oregon Department of Energy has selected 24 recipients to receive nearly $12 million in Community Renewable Energy Grant Program funds. The program supports planning and construction of renewable energy or energy resilience projects for Tribes, public bodies, and consumer-owned utilities.

Read More