THE PORTLAND CLEAN ENERGY FUND MEANS CLEAN ENERGY AND GREEN JOBS IN PORTLAND.

The Portland Clean Energy Fund means $44 to $61 million in new annual funding for clean energy homes and jobs in Portland.

Nonprofit organizations, alone or in partnership with for-profit companies, schools and/or other government agencies, can apply for grants from this revenue to weatherize homes, install solar and other renewable energy projects, provide job and contractor training, expand local food production, and build green infrastructure in Portland. The revenue is raised by a 1% business license surcharge on the Portland revenue generated by retail corporations with over $1 billion in annual revenue and at least $500,000 in Portland revenue.

The Portland Clean Energy Fund was created and led by communities on the frontlines of climate change building policy and a broad coalition over the course of many years. Read more about the origins of the Portland Clean Energy Fund.

Please note that this website is maintained by the community coalition that supported the successful passage of the Portland Clean Energy Fund ballot initiative in 2018. The City of Portland maintains a website where you can find information, funding opportunities, and updates on their work to run the Portland Clean Energy Fund program.

Click here for:

• The City of Portland’s website on the Portland Clean Energy Fund

• The Portland Clean Energy Fund ballot measure title and summary

• A campaign report, toolkit, and executive summary telling the story of the passage of the Portland Clean Energy Fund

• A flowchart with information about the surcharge, the grant program and funding categories

• A technical memo with information about the source of revenue, how funds are managed, eligible uses and equity provisions

• The full text of the Portland Clean Energy Fund ballot measure, which passed in November 2018

• Portland City Club Report

• Portland City Club Summary

Frontline community-facing organizations are the core of our steering committee: the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO), the Coalition of Communities of Color, NAACP Portland Branch 1120, the Native American Youth & Family Center (NAYA), OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon, and Verde. Our steering committee also draws on Portland’s renowned environmental movement: 350PDX, the Audubon Society of Portland, Columbia Riverkeeper, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, and the Oregon Chapter of the Sierra Club. Our coalition has grown to include over 200 organizations and individuals.

The Portland Clean Energy Fund has a fundamental commitment to Portlanders who are most impacted by climate change but have been excluded from the emerging low-carbon economy: low-income people and people of color. At least 50% of grant-funded energy efficiency/renewable energy projects “should specifically benefit low-income residents and communities of color;” and at least 20% of all grants “shall be awarded to nonprofit organizations with a mission and track record of programs that benefit economically disadvantaged community members.”

This initiative is Oregon’s first ever Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC)-led environmental ballot measure, with core leadership from African-American, Native American, Latinx, and Asian-Pacific Islander communities. The culmination of years of capacity building partnerships between organizations of color and the philanthropic community, the Portland Clean Energy Fund initiative signals the arrival of a new inclusive climate movement that can win elections in Portland, in Oregon, and nationwide.

FAQs

What is the Portland Clean Energy Fund?

A: The Portland Clean Energy Fund is a municipal grant program that was established by a citizen ballot measure (the Portland Clean Energy Initiative) which passed in November 2018 with 65% support from Portland voters. It will distribute $44-61 million every year in clean energy funding for renewable energy, energy efficiency, job training, green infrastructure, and future innovation for all Portlanders, prioritizing low-income residents and people of color. The fund is now no longer connected to any ballot measure or prospective legislation, and the City of Portland is working with a nine-person grant & oversight committee to build the Portland Clean Energy Fund grantmaking program and fund clean energy community benefits projects. This website is maintained by the community coalition that is supporting capacity building and implementation of the Portland Clean Energy Fund. Click here to see the City of Portland’s website detailing their work to build the Portland Clean Energy Fund program.

When will money for clean energy projects become available?

A: The City of Portland will soon release its first-ever request for grant proposals in late 2020, with funding decisions and dispersal of money for projects anticipated in early 2021. These dates are subject to change: visit the City of Portland’s website on the Portland Clean Energy Fund for the latest official updates and information.

How did the Portland Clean Energy Fund come to exist?

Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) communities led a years-long organizing effort to build the innovative policy and broad coalition that made success possible for the Portland Clean Energy Fund at the ballot box in November 2018. Click here to learn more about the story of the Portland Clean Energy Fund.

Is this like Measure 97?

A: Measure 97 was a statewide initiative, whereas the Portland Clean Energy Fund only applies to major retailers in the City of Portland. Measure 97 did not exempt groceries and medicine, while the Portland Clean Energy Fund does. Measure 97 won in Portland with over 60% of the vote but failed statewide. The Portland Clean Energy Fund passed by ballot initiative in the City of Portland with 65% of the vote.

Why retail corporations?

A: Most retailers have the longest supply trains, and don't account for greenhouse gases in the production and distribution of their products. For every dollar spent at a national retail store, 58 cents gets recirculated back into the community as opposed to 73 cents of every dollar spent at a locally owned store. These corporations can and should pay their fair share to address climate change and invest in our community.

How can I be sure the dollars will be spent wisely?

A: Administrative costs are limited to 5% of the annual fund of the Portland Clean Energy Fund. A nine-person grant committee, patterned after the successful Portland Children's Levy, decides on which projects get funded and provides accountability. Members of the committee are required to have extensive experience in the fields pertaining to the initiative and represent the economic and racial diversity of those most impacted by the effects of climate change.

Doesn’t the Energy Trust do this? Is this a duplication of efforts?

A: The Energy Trust of Oregon provides support and incentives for residential energy efficiency and solar to the level governed by the Oregon Public Utilities Commission, whose mission does not include climate change or social justice. This effort will add much-needed dollars on top of important Energy Trust incentives.

How is it funded?

A: The Portland Clean Energy Fund is fueled by a 1% supplemental business license surcharge on large retail corporations, such as Wells Fargo, Apple, and Banana Republic, that generate over $1 billion a year in national revenue and $500,000 in Portland sales. Revenue from groceries and medicine is exempt, as are utilities, credit unions, and cooperatives.

What organizations developed the Initiative?

A: The NAACP Portland Branch 1120, the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO), the Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA), Verde, Coalition of Communities of Color, 350PDX, and Oregon Chapter, Sierra Club. After developing the initiative, more groups joined the coalition’s steering committee. Click here for a full list of coalition leadership and membership.

Does this affect consumer prices at impacted retailers?

A: There is no credible argument for why billion-dollar retailers must pass the Portland Clean Energy Fund surcharge to consumers. Major retailers determine their store prices based on national trends, so a 1% business license surcharge in Portland is not significant enough to impact retailers' price determinations on a national level.

Doesn't the State of Oregon have programs to do this work?

A: Of the approximately 249,000 single-family and multiple-family housing units in Portland, 213,000 are in need of energy efficiency upgrading (85.5%). The Portland Clean Energy Fund will effectively stop the boom-and-bust cycle of insufficient support for energy efficiency and solar by utilities and public agencies. In 2014, Oregon Public Utilities Commission cut residential energy efficiency incentives available via the Energy Trust of Oregon. Frontline communities identified a need for a stable source of long-term funding that is aligned with the scale of our challenges related to climate change and economic equity. We also need to provide resources for families that do not have the disposable income to spend to qualify for energy efficiency rebates and tax credits.

Aren't there incentives that already exist for solar power?

A: The Oregon Department of Energy's Residential Energy Tax Credit (RETC) program ended in 2017. Nearly 600,000 Oregonians participated in the program between 1977 and 2017, receiving incentives for ductless heat pumps, rooftop solar, electric vehicle chargers, and more. Energy efficiency projects like this need funding, and the loss of the Renewable Energy Tax Credit program further underlines the need for the Portland Clean Energy Fund.