Portland Becoming a Haven for Clean Energy

The ongoing conversation about various means of clean energy gets an enthusiastic boost from Portland, OR.

In 2018, 65% of voters in Portland passed a measure that would levy a 1% retail sales tax on major corporations conducting business in the city. The tax, which was officially enacted in 2019, ensures companies pay the city a small percentage of each sale. Through this measure, the city has been able to raise nearly $1 billion.

All of this money was put into the Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF). Described by NPR as “a first-of-its-kind racial, social and climate justice fund aimed at helping the city’s most vulnerable residents adapt to climate change while also reducing carbon emissions,” the PCEF has netted some incredible results.

Since its inception in 2019, the Portland Clean Energy Fund has “distributed more than 20,000 free air-conditioning units to help vulnerable households prepare for heat waves.” The fund has also retrofitted 3,100 homes for energy efficiency. Further, the money has been used to ensure future jobs, helping to train 2,000 people within the clean energy and construction sectors.

According to Sam Baraso, the Portland Clean Energy Fund program manager, “The Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund was born out of the experience of front-line communities who too often have been hit first and worse by the climate crisis and who have been historically left out of decision-making processes.” He continues, “The fund really poses a simple and powerful question: ‘What if those most impacted by climate change were the ones designing solutions?'”

Thus far, this fund has disbursed four rounds of community-based grant monies, ranging from $8,000 to $10.3 million. Overall, $262 million have gone toward reducing 25,500 metric tons of carbon emissions.

Unsurprisingly, more cities have taken notice of Portland’s efforts to ensure sustainability has a foothold in the future of how we live our lives. Ann Arbor, MI; Denver, CO.; and Seattle, WA., have created funds in a similar vein. While each respective city’s regulations vary, Portland has lain a blueprint for others to not only follow, but build upon.

This five-year plan, which concludes about mid-2019, has already yielded impressive strides in moving the country to a more sustainable future. The first of Portland’s seeming multiphase program is forecasted to invest $1.6 billion in its community.

The Bright Side

It’s no coincidence that so many of these stories surround community. If we want true change to occur, it must be a concerted effort among all of us. Together, we are more than capable of making this world a healthy, thriving home for all who inhabit it.

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