Energy Facilities Spotlight: State Jurisdiction
Crews begin constructing solar infrastructure near Oregon’s Klondike wind facility.
As Oregon makes progress on its clean energy goals – including a 100 percent clean electricity target by 2040 for the state’s largest utilities – the state will need new clean energy generation facilities like wind and solar to meet energy demand. But who decides where and how facilities are built in Oregon?
Oversight of energy facility siting in Oregon began in 1971, when the state formed a Nuclear and Thermal Energy Council responsible for regulating the siting of nuclear and coal-fired power plants of 200 megawatts or greater. In 1975, Oregon revised its energy facility siting laws and replaced the NTEC with the Energy Facility Siting Council, which serves Oregon to this day and reviews and considers approval for proposed energy facilities in the state.
EFSC is responsible for overseeing the development of large electric generating facilities, high voltage transmission lines, gas pipelines, radioactive waste disposal sites, and other projects. This state-level oversight of energy facilities helps ensure that Oregon has an adequate energy supply, while protecting Oregon’s environment and public safety.
While EFSC’s jurisdiction typically includes review of large proposed energy facilities, smaller facilities outside EFSC jurisdiction are often considered and reviewed by the local government in which the facility will be located. For example, utility-scale solar facilities have historically been built small enough that they were approved by local county leaders rather than through the state review process. But as proposed solar facilities have grown in size to meet renewable energy needs, more facilities are coming through the EFSC process. The first EFSC-jurisdiction solar facility was approved in 2018. Today, more than a dozen solar facilities are in the EFSC process, from newly proposed to operational.
So which facilities go through the state’s process? A few types of facilities EFSC will review:
Electric power plants of 25 megawatts or greater from thermal power, a combustion turbine power plant, or a solar thermal power plant.
Electric power plants with a nameplate capacity of 150 megawatts or greater produced from geothermal or wind energy at a single facility. (Nameplate capacity means the potential full-load, sustained output of a facility.)
Solar facilities using more than:
240 acres of high-value farmland
2,560 acres (4 square miles) on cultivated land or certain class soils
3,840 acres (6 square miles) on any other land
Transmission lines of 230 kilovolts or more that are more than 10 miles in length and that will be constructed in more than one city or county.
Intrastate natural gas pipelines of 16 inches or more in diameter or 5 miles or more in length.
Radioactive waste disposal sites and nuclear installations.
Visit ODOE’s website for a full list of facilities in state jurisdiction.
Oregon’s energy facility siting process is thorough, as we’ve shared previously on the blog. It includes a robust public involvement process that considers a set of standards that energy facilities must meet, including standards to protect natural resources, ensure public health and safety, and protect against adverse environmental effects. Learn more about the energy facility siting process, view a list of EFSC-jurisdiction projects, and check out how to get involved in the process on ODOE’s website.
Previously on our blog: