2025 Year in Review
From Our Director
This time last year, we were gearing up for the Oregon Department of Energy’s 50th anniversary as a state agency. We looked back at our own agency’s history to kick off the new year and shared more on Oregon’s energy history on our blog each month, including the history of energy facility siting, Hanford nuclear site cleanup, energy planning, and much more. We even had former agency directors join us for a special Grounded podcast episode to share about their time with the agency.
As we celebrated our past, we also made new history this year as we continue leading Oregon toward our vision of a safe, equitable, sustainable, and clean energy future through the first comprehensive state energy strategy (more below).
We kicked off 2025 with a new legislative session and difficult budget outlook. Some of ODOE’s state-funded incentive programs, including those for heat pumps and solar rebates, received no new funding for the 2025-2027 biennium. In August, the U.S. EPA cancelled the Solar for All grant that ODOE would have used to help Oregonians with low and moderate incomes afford solar and storage. This fall, Oregon joined a multi-state lawsuit against the administration’s illegal termination of this program.
Despite these setbacks, ODOE programs continued to support Oregon Tribes, homes, businesses, and more in 2025. We awarded 19 County Energy Resilience Grants to support development of local energy resilience plans. We once again landed in the top 10 most energy efficient states according to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy; the scorecard highlighted Oregon’s new Building Performance Standard program, which outlines new requirements to energy management practices and efficiency measures in many large commercial buildings. ODOE announced $2 million in grants to support Oregon’s energy workforce, including grants to organizations – such as Warm Springs Construction Enterprise, Klamath Community College, Northwest Native Chamber, and others – that provide education and trainings, mentorship, and hands-on experience. Our agency was also awarded an additional $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to continue supporting energy assessments for Oregon agricultural and rural small businesses looking to improve efficiency and lower energy costs.
Thanks to a $197 million federal Climate Pollution Reduction Grant awarded to the state, ODOE was also able to launch a new Heat Pump Purchase Program over the summer that provides $2,000 incentives for heat pumps in owner-occupied homes, rental homes, and homes under construction. So far, the program has already reserved or issued more than 4,800 heat pump incentives in Oregon homes. We also announced a new $12 million round of Community Renewable Energy Grants to support planning and construction of renewable energy or energy resilience projects for Tribes, public bodies, and consumer-owned utilities (awardee announcement coming soon!), as well as $11.5 million available for Grid Resilience Grants to support resilience projects at eligible electric utilities (applications due January 30).
ODOE shared updates on process improvements for energy facility siting in Oregon that will ensure the siting process remains relevant, timely, and responsive to Oregon’s needs (along with other siting-related spotlights for Oregonians to learn more). ODOE celebrated an important milestone in the Hanford cleanup, as the site successfully started up its Low-Activity Waste Facility, which will solidify Hanford tank waste in glass for permanent, safe disposal. The agency also published many new reports to guide decision-makers and energy program implementers, including the latest Biennial Zero Emission Vehicle Report, an update to the Energy Security Plan, a new Biennial Oregon Heat Pump Report, Natural Climate Solutions and workforce-related reports, and others.
Those who followed our work this year also know that ODOE proudly published a first-of-its-kind Oregon Energy Strategy following two years of public engagement, data analysis and modeling, and more. The energy strategy report identifies pathways, policies, and recommended actions Oregon can take to meet the state’s clean energy policy objectives while addressing energy affordability and reliability. It identifies five pathways to achieve energy policy objectives: energy efficiency, clean electricity, electrification, low-carbon fuels, and resilience. The strategy evaluates the benefits and challenges of those pathways and considers how different choices can affect energy costs for Oregon households, air quality and public health, and jobs and the economy. In November, Governor Kotek issued a new Executive Order that focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and advancing Oregon’s clean energy future. The EO calls on state agencies to prioritize implementation of the Oregon Energy Strategy pathways.
As we close this chapter on our 50th year serving Oregon, we turn our attention to the next 50, with the Oregon Energy Strategy to help chart our course. ODOE will also be finalizing a new agency strategic plan to guide the next few years of our work.
I think it’s safe to say big things are on the horizon.
But first, let’s celebrate 2025. It’s always hard to narrow down what to feature in a Year in Review, but I hope you’ll take a moment to look back on what we’ve achieved together (you can also view past monthly newsletters on our blog). ODOE sincerely appreciates your thoughtful engagement over the past year, and we look forward to working with you in the years to come.
It’s my honor to serve as agency Director, to work with you, and to lead the incredible team of dedicated professionals here at the Oregon Department of Energy.
Happy New Year!
Janine Benner
ODOE started the year by sharing some of our programs by the numbers, including about $43 million total in incentives issued for solar, heat pumps, wildfire rebuilding, and more.
ODOE Awards Grants to 19 Counties for Energy Resilience Planning. The Oregon Department of Energy awarded $950,000 in grants to 19 Oregon counties to support development of energy resilience plans through the agency’s County Energy Resilience Grant Program. Energy resilience plans – and the actions to implement them – will strengthen the ability of a community to maintain or quickly recover the energy systems needed to support critical public services during disruptions to the state’s larger energy systems.
Oregon Among Top 10 Most Energy Efficient States. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy ranked Oregon at No. 9 in its nationwide State Energy Efficiency Scorecard, which measures policy and program standards that support energy efficiency. The scorecard recognized Oregon for its efforts around Building Performance Standards, equity-focused programs, the Energy Affdability Act, and more.
In the spring, ODOE Director Janine Benner was pleased to serve as a presenter and judge for the 2025 Oregon Coast Renewable Energy Challenge in Newport. Students from public elementary and middle schools along the coast created their own renewable energy devices to compete for best design. The challenge is designed to educate students about renewable energy options that could be built in and provide energy for their own coastal communities (and beyond).
ODOE Awards $2 Million in Grants to Support Energy Workforce. ODOE awarded $2 million in grants to six organizations supporting development of Oregon’s energy workforce. The selected six organizations based on the number of qualified applicants, program needs, and demonstrated benefits to disadvantaged communities for clean workforce development.
House Bill 3409, passed by the Oregon Legislature in 2023, recognized the importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by accelerating the installation of heat pumps and other energy efficient appliances in Oregon homes. It established the one-time $2 million Energy Efficiency Technologies Information and Training Fund at ODOE, with a focus on reducing barriers to home energy efficiency and resilience improvements.
ODOE Grant Program Celebrates Solar on New Latino Community Center. In the spring, Latino Network opened La Plaza Esperanza as a community center in East Multnomah County’s Rockwood neighborhood. ODOE was proud to support the project with a $579,841 grant from the first round of ODOE’s Community Renewable Energy Grant Program. The funding supported a rooftop solar and a battery backup system for La Plaza Esperanza.
ODOE is now in its fourth round of grant funding through this important program, with awardee announcements coming soon.
Oregon's Renewable Portfolio Standard, which establishes requirements for electric utilities to procure a certain percent of electricity they sell to customers from renewable resources by a specific date, reached an important milestone in 2025. “Small” electric utilities must also now demonstrate that they get at least 5 percent of their electricity from qualifying resources. The actual percentage will depend on utility sales for the year; if sales are high enough, a small utility’s RPS standard can be at least 10 percent. A small utility can even grow into a large utility over time.
ODOE Launches Federally Funded Heat Pump Incentive Program. In June, ODOE began accepting incentive applications through the agency’s new Heat Pump Purchase Program, which provides $2,000 incentives for the installation of heat pumps in owner-occupied homes, rental homes, and homes under construction. Incentives are issued to approved program contractors, who then pass the savings on to the customer.
The heat pump program is part of the state’s Climate Equity and Resilience Through Action program. In 2024, Oregon was awarded $197 million in Climate Pollution Reduction Grant funds through the federal Inflation Reduction Act to support several programs at various Oregon state agencies — including this new heat pump program at ODOE — that will help Oregon reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
New Building Performance Standard Program to Address Efficiency in Existing Large Commercial Buildings. ODOE launched Oregon’s new Building Performance Standard program this year, which will involve energy efficiency compliance deadlines for commercial buildings beginning in 2028.
Passed by the Oregon Legislature as part of Oregon House Bill 3409 in 2023, the program establishes energy performance standards for existing large commercial buildings, which account for nearly 20 percent of energy use in the state. Oregon is the fourth state to require existing buildings to meet building performance standards. Improving the efficiency of Oregon’s large commercial buildings lowers their energy use, reduces their carbon footprint, can reduce long-term costs for building owners, and can result in additional benefits, such as improving indoor air quality.
Since 1975, Oregon’s Energy Facility Siting Council has been reviewing, approving, and decommissioning state-jurisdiction energy facilities across the state – including wind, solar, natural gas, and other energy generation facilities that help keep power running in Oregon homes and businesses. ODOE continued to shine a spotlight on the public energy facility siting process on our blog this year, including deep dives into the compliance program, energy storage, and important energy facility siting process improvements.
ODOE Reports Provide Important Insights for Policymakers, Decision Makers, and Implementers. The Oregon Department of Energy has a statutory responsibility to serve as a centralized repository of energy information and to provide useful, objective insights into Oregon’s energy and related environmental, safety, and security needs and trends.
One of the ways we complete this work is through data analysis, public engagement, and development of reports to the Legislature and Governor. This year, in addition to the Oregon Energy Strategy (see below), ODOE issued the latest Biennial Zero Emission Vehicle Report, an update to the Energy Security Plan, a new Biennial Oregon Heat Pump Report, Natural Climate Solutions and workforce-related reports, and various other program reports to the Legislature.
New State Energy Strategy Charts a Course for Oregon's Energy Future. In November, ODOE was pleased to present the Oregon Energy Strategy, a first-of-its-kind report that identifies pathways, policies, and recommended actions Oregon can take to meet the state’s clean energy policy objectives while addressing energy affordability and reliability.
As directed by Oregon House Bill 3630 (2023), ODOE developed the energy strategy with support and engagement from Tribes, peer agencies and organizations, energy partners, community groups, and the public. It identifies five pathways to achieve energy policy objectives; evaluates the benefits and challenges of those pathways; and considers how different choices can affect energy costs for Oregon households, air quality and public health, and jobs and the economy.
We hope Oregonians dive into the new energy strategy to learn more and see how we each play a role in meeting our energy future. This is just the beginning of this work, so stay tuned in 2026 as we begin implementing the strategy.