Thursday, March 4, 2010, 2:56pm PST | Modified: July 23, 2010, 11:26 AM

New law targets older biomass plants

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Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed into law Thursday a bill allowing electricity produced from older biomass energy facilities to count toward the state’s renewable energy requirements.

Under House Bill 3674, biomass plants built before 1995 will now be eligible for renewable energy credits that utilities can count toward meeting the state’s renewable energy standard.

But in a change from a similar bill vetoed last year, utilities cannot redeem the credits until 2026.

The state’s renewable portfolio standard requires 25 percent of all retail electricity sales in Oregon must come from renewables by 2025. Certain energy sources built before 1995, however, were ineligible for the credit.

The version of the bill Kulongoski vetoed last year would have allowed the older energy plants to be eligible for renewable credits immediately.

Critics at the time said that allowing older resources to count toward the renewable portfolio standard would reduce the amount of new renewable energy projects developed in the state.

Supporters argued that the bill would help preserve jobs. Most of the older biomass plants are tied to lumber mills that could extract value from the renewable energy credits at a time when the industry is struggling.

Kulongoski called the latest bill a compromise.

In prohibiting utilities from redeeming the credits until 2026, the bill keeps intact the spirt of the renewable portfolio standard’s 2025 goal, Kulongoski said.