Oregon + Climate Change
Guest Author: Maya Buchanan
Maya is the Oregon Department of Energy’s Senior Climate Policy Analyst, and served as a reviewer of the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute’s 5th Oregon Climate Assessment report.
Our day-to-day activities—powering our homes and communities and reaching our destinations—depend on the accessibility of reliable energy systems.
What better time than Earth Day to reflect on our changing climate and the hazards it poses to our society and surrounding environment, from smoke-inducing wildfires and mega-droughts to destructive flooding events. Climate change touches every dimension of our environment and lives—affecting the quality of the air we breathe, amount of water we have, and longevity of our buildings and roads, just to name a few. Climate change acutely affects the energy sector, which we depend on to power our homes and communities, and to reach our destinations.
OCCRI’s recent Fifth Oregon Climate Assessment report is a valuable resource in reflecting on these changes, as it synthesizes the state of climate science and emerging trends specific to Oregon. This OCCRI assessment stands out from previous iterations in that it also discusses potential sector-specific impacts raised in Oregon’s updated interagency Climate Adaptation Framework and ODOE’s Biennial Energy Report.
The assessment’s Built Environment chapter provides a high-level overview of regional risks to electricity generation posed by increases in the duration and frequency of droughts, changes in precipitation patterns, and increases in air and water temperatures. It also comments on the power sector’s adaptive capacity—the ability of systems and institutions to adjust to potential damage, take advantage of opportunities, or respond to consequences.
For example, the assessment reflects on how well-equipped the regional grid is to handle changes in the amount and type of precipitation, which can result in seasonal water shortages/surpluses affecting the production of hydroelectric and thermoelectric power. Although the grid’s regional network may be able to compensate for these effects, doing so may result in reliance on more carbon-intensive electricity, increases in electricity prices, and/or new investments in cleaner forms of electricity supply (e.g., wind and solar).
More in-depth information on the hazards, potential impacts, and adaptive capacity of Oregon’s energy sector (including but not limited to electricity generation) will be provided in ODOE’s upcoming climate vulnerability assessment – Keep an eye out!