One person鈥檚 dream home might be a villa on the shore of Italy鈥檚 Lake Como, while another鈥檚 is a clifftop mansion overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Will Musser鈥檚 is a house that blends in with his Portland neighborhood.
鈥淚t鈥檚 comfortable, not ostentatious or kind of extravagant,鈥� Musser said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty much got everything that I want.鈥�
Musser鈥檚 dream home is equipped with solar panels, an electric water heater, a smart electric panel, an induction stove, an electric vehicle charger and a battery storage system. Upgrading the house to minimize the Musser family鈥檚 carbon footprint 鈥� their dependence on fossil fuels that contribute to climate change 鈥� took over a year to complete and cost about $50,000.
Musser is a climate change and sustainability advocate. He hopes his retrofitted house will serve as an example for how other early adopters can transition their homes to 100% electric power without trying to get off the grid or live an ultra-sustainable lifestyle.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just lowering your carbon footprint and maximizing livability and comfort,鈥� he said.
But there鈥檚 one thing keeping his home from operating entirely on carbon-free energy: the power grid that it鈥檚 connected to. Except when its energy is coming from the rooftop solar panels or the battery storage system connected to an outside wall, it鈥檚 powered by whatever mix of electricity the utility company is delivering.
That means a combination of carbon-free energy from hydroelectric dams and wind farms and electricity from power plants that burn natural gas and coal. Now, as more policymakers, companies and individual Oregonians are beginning the transition to 100% clean electricity, more attention is shifting to the power grid 鈥� usually a more out-of-sight and out-of-mind piece of the puzzle.
The grid is like a giant machine made up of generation facilities, transmission and power lines, transformers and substations. It takes all those moving parts to deliver energy from source to electrical socket. Experts say it needs to be modernized to be able to handle the clean-energy transition.
But updating the power grid isn鈥檛 as easy as flipping a switch. It takes coordination from , federal and state agencies and other players to update and build out the miles-long, state line-crossing grid.
The transition to 100% renewable energy
The continued burning of fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas is driving human-caused climate change. The resulting carbon pollution trapped in the atmosphere raises average temperatures, resulting in warmer, wetter and stormier winters and hotter, drier summers.
Recently, researchers from around the world that warned if greenhouse gas emissions are not drastically curbed, the world could see by 2100. So far this decade, Oregon has faced longer and more intense , , and an thatin June of 2021 鈥� all linked by scientists to climate change.
In response to what is increasingly seen as a climate crisis, , which requires utilities to eliminate their greenhouse gas emissions associated with electricity they provide by 100% by 2040.
The law has set the state on a course to meet one of the nation鈥檚 most ambitious climate goals. Adam Schultz, the Oregon Department of Energy鈥檚 electricity and markets policy group lead, said so far Oregon is doing fine in meeting those goals but there is more work to do to get more renewable energy in the system to replace what鈥檚 being produced from burning fossil fuels.
鈥淲e still have certainly quite a bit of fossil, mostly natural gas, some coal still powering Oregonians鈥� homes,鈥� he said.
According to the Oregon Department of Energy鈥檚 , hydroelectricity is the state鈥檚 main source of electricity. But natural gas 鈥� mostly made up of the potent greenhouse gas methane 鈥� has become one of Oregon鈥檚 fastest-growing energy resources in the past decade. The state鈥檚 use of natural gas has doubled since 2012. Power from natural gas-fired energy plants make up about 22% of the state鈥檚 electric use.
Oregon鈥檚 share of energy from wind and over the past decade. At the same time, electricity from burning coal has declined. The single biggest reason for this is that Portland General Electric shut down Oregon鈥檚 last coal plant in 2020, replacing it with an innovative near Boardman in Eastern Oregon.
Coal continues to power many homes and other buildings in Oregon because some utilities are still bringing in electricity powered by out-of-state coal-fired plants.
Large-scale battery systems are increasingly important, clean energy experts say. That鈥檚 because they offer a way to store wind and solar power, making it available when the wind isn鈥檛 turning turbine blades or the sun isn鈥檛 heating solar arrays.
鈥淭he key pathway that we need to unlock in the two decades ahead is really figuring out to what extent storage is going to play a significant role in adding that flexibility to our grid,鈥� Schultz said.
Building more transmission lines
The Northwest鈥檚 power grid will also need to modernize and expand its transmission lines to move renewable energy from where it鈥檚 being generated to where it鈥檚 needed, he said. That includes wind and solar farms in Oregon and other states 鈥� and potentially and.
If transmission lines aren鈥檛 expanded, , according to Emily Moore, senior researcher with independent nonprofit organization Sightline Institute.
鈥淲e know we鈥檙e going to need more transmission,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut there鈥檚 no plan in place right now for building out the transmission we need or even identifying how much of it we need and where it should go.鈥�
The Bonneville Power Administration operates about 75% of the Pacific Northwest鈥檚 transmission lines, including critical corridors from east to west across the Cascade Mountains.
Moore said because of that, BPA, regulators like the Oregon Public Utility Commission and policymakers should quickly and cooperatively come up with longer-term plans and policies for meeting clean-energy goals.
a membership organization that includes BPA and 11 utilities in the region, is tasked with developing a 10-year regional transmission plan. Moore said that needs to be extended to 20 years to better plan out transmission routes.
鈥淭he clock is ticking on climate action and transmission lines are notoriously difficult to build and take a very long time 鈥� from 10 to 20 years 鈥� to build a new line,鈥� she said.
Jeff Cook, a BPA vice president who oversees transmission engineering and technical services, said it would be too generous to say the region is ahead of the game when it comes to modernizing the grid鈥檚 transmission.
鈥淚 think we are right in the middle of the game and we need to be proactively looking at where to add these transmission lines,鈥� he said.
One reason transmission-line modernizing takes so long is the time required for public input and environmental review before permits can be issued. The proposed , Cook said, is a case in point.
鈥淚t started in 2007 and a shovel hasn鈥檛 hit the ground yet,鈥� Cook said. 鈥淪o, it is a long process in order to build these lines.鈥�
Constructing across nearly 300 miles of eastern Oregon and southwestern Idaho is.
鈥榃e are on the cusp鈥�
Despite the clean-energy transition鈥檚 many challenges, modeling from the Clean Energy Transition Institute, a nonprofit research and analysis organization, suggests for emission reduction targets. That would mean removing coal from the state鈥檚 electricity mix and replacing it with clean resources, while also reducing energy consumption.
Executive Director Eileen V. Quigley said the institute is researching additional steps toward cutting carbon from the energy mix, including what she called 鈥� pathways鈥� 鈥� the process of reducing carbon emissions as much as possible from all sectors of the economy.
Quigley said it鈥檚 not realistic to expect Oregon鈥檚 energy mix to be 100% carbon-free right at this moment, but it should be able to get there over the next two decades.
鈥淪o, I think that鈥檚 probably one of the most important points to make to people,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e are talking about a transition. Things need to change over time.鈥�
Quigley said she is seeing a clear consensus on climate change and its consequences, and that is helping shift the conversation on carbon-free power and energy conservation.
鈥淚 really feel like we are on the cusp of finally cracking many, many difficult barriers to this transition,鈥� she said.
As for Portland homeowner Will Musser, he鈥檒l continue to open his home for those curious about how they can transition to a less carbon-polluting lifestyle. Musser said he understands not everyone can afford to make the same upgrades he did; the cost of some appliances and retrofits are still high, despite rebates and other incentives offered to make the switch.
Musser said he will keep learning more about what he can do to help move this forward, so the clean energy transition can benefit all communities.
鈥淓verybody has to do this, or will have to,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e have to do this, especially for residences, if we鈥檙e going to meet our climate goals and basically have a livable habitat for the next several hundred years.鈥�
Copyright 2022 Oregon Public Broadcasting. To see more, visit .
