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Energy Resource & Technology Reviews

Resource Reviews

RAPID ADVANCEMENTS IN TECHNOLOGY HAVE RESPONDED TO AND PIONEERED CHANGES IN OUR STATE AND ACROSS THE WORLD.

Often these resources and technologies are critical to the function of our society while also helping us work better and faster. Sometimes they also enable us to adapt — the COVID-19 pandemic made virtual meetings commonplace and changed how Oregonians conduct business. The resources and technologies presented in this section cover the spectrum of traditional to innovative, and demonstrate the breadth of technology that is integral to the production and management of our energy system.

Full Resource & Technology Reviews Section

Transportation Fuel Highlight: Renewable Diesel

Renewable diesel fuel, sometimes called green diesel, is a low carbon intensity biofuel made from waste or renewable materials, including rendered tallow, fish waste, used cooking oil, inedible corn oil, soybean oil, canola oil, and other biomass resources. It is chemically identical to petroleum diesel fuel and can be used in existing petroleum pipelines, storage tanks, and engines without modification or blending. In 2020, the United States consumed over 960 million gallons, about a quarter of which was produced domestically and the rest is imported, mostly from Singapore-based refineries.

Read full “Energy Resource & Technology Review: Transportation Fuels” section.

Electricity Generation in Oregon

There are 459 utility-scale generators in Oregon that provide electricity for homes and businesses throughout the Pacific Northwest. 1 These facilities use a variety of resources, including hydroelectric, natural gas, wind, solar, biomass, municipal waste, landfill gas, and geothermal resources. Hydropower makes up 40 percent of the energy consumed in Oregon, followed by natural gas at 21 percent and wind at 11 percent.

Are Batteries an Electricity Generation Technology?

While batteries do not directly generate electricity, they provide electricity to the grid by acting as a pass-through using stored energy that was previously generated by some other resource like wind, solar, or natural gas. Batteries, or other energy storge technologies such as pumped hydro, are charged during times of surplus generation on the grid and later discharged when needed. Charging and discharging energy storage devices results in some of the energy being lost. These losses are known as round-trip efficiency losses and are improving as battery technologies advance.

Read full “Energy Resource & Technology Review: Electricity-Generating Technologies” section.

Transportation Fuel Highlight: Hydrogen (Fuel Cell EVs)

FCEVs are classified as zero-emission vehicles along with battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Rather than using batteries, the fuel cells in these vehicles convert hydrogen fuel to electricity when the vehicle is operating. Like other ZEVs, FCEVs have no tailpipe emissions, and any lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions are contributed by how the hydrogen is produced and transported.

There are no registered FCEVs and no dealerships sell them in Oregon, largely because there are no hydrogen fueling stations in the state. The capital cost to build a light-duty hydrogen fueling station is approximately $1.9 million, making investments in the fueling infrastructure significantly higher than for battery electric vehicles. However, a single hydrogen fueling station can service far more vehicles in one day than an EV charging station.

Learn more with ODOE’s “Renewable Hydrogen in Oregon: Opportunities and Challenges” report.