Oregon’s Clean Fuel Standard: Moving Right Along

After final legislation was passed in March of 2015, Oregon’s Clean Fuel Standard had some steps to take before starting up. Finalizing the program took some months, but on January 1st of this year participants were first allowed to register, and the clean fuel standard is now in full swing.

Some of the voluntary credit-generating parties have made headlines by opting in, such as Fred Meyer and Tesla, who have used clean fuels for their fleet and added charging stations for electric vehicles, respectively. They join the almost-100 participants in the program (as of June 2016), who include other credit generators, producers of biofuels like Sequential Pacific Biodiesel and Pacific Ethanol, blendstock providers, and the finished fuel providers who are required to participate.

While the program gets under way, it has faced some bumps in the road. It faced litigation from the oil and trucking industry (which was dismissed in September of 2015). Opponents in the legislature tried to couple the transportation package with changes to the standard (which was unsuccessful, both in 2015 and 2016). The oil industry threatened with an anti-clean-fuel ballot measure that would take place in fall of 2016, but after several months of planning they shelved these efforts (this might have had something to do with the level of support for the clean fuel standard; two thirds of those polled support the measure).

Despite these challenges, the clean fuel standard is moving right along.

Filed in: BlogMary Solecki