Morrow Co. discusses Governor’s order on clean energy
By Griffin Beach on Wednesday, October 22nd, 2025 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
MORROW COUNTY – Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek issued an executive order on Oct. 6 directing state agencies to accelerate the pace of renewable wind and solar projects before the “clock runs out” on federal clean energy tax credits.
The order directs all relevant agencies, boards, and commissions to take all steps necessary and authorized by existing statutes to accelerate and prioritize siting and permitting reviews, approvals, and processes necessary to expedite the permitting and development of solar and wind energy projects in Oregon that seek to qualify for federal clean energy tax credits, requiring construction to commence by July 4, 2026.
This order is in response to guidance from the IRS and the U.S. Treasury Department that resulted from U.S. House Resolution 1, better known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as well as an Executive Order from President Trump signed on July 7 titled “Ending Market Distorting Subsidies for Unreliable, Foreign-Controlled Energy Sources,” which narrow qualification requirements and require project completion within four years to be eligible for the tax credits.
Morrow County has several renewable energy projects underway, including the Heppner Wind Project, and the Wheatridge Energy Renewable Facility, which includes wind and solar.
“We’re expecting a bit of an uptick in work,” said county Planning Director Tamra Mabbot, who gave an update to county commissioners last week on what the order could mean. “There are three projects in Morrow County that are in one stage or another at EFSC (Energy Facility Siting Council) and one transmission line. Not much we can do to prepare we just have to wait to see how they come.”
Mabbot and Commissioner David Sykes both agreed that the order didn’t give many specifics on how EFSC would handle these projects going forward.
“I did communicate with (EFSC) staff, and they’re just prioritizing those projects,” said Mabbot.
Mabbot pointed out that the order gave the state’s Department of Energy enforcement discretion to waive civil penalties if a renewable energy project starts construction without proper permitting. She said this creates confusion because she feels neither she nor the county has the authority to “look the other way” in their own permitting process.
“I can’t issue a conditional use permit if there’s no site certificate (from EFSC), nor do I feel like I have the authority to waive any enforcement action which would be a really long, slow process,” she said.
Though no action was taken, Mabbot and Commissioner Gus Peterson suggested a future workshop on the subject might be a good idea.
“It’s a weird situation to have the state say we’re not going to enforce the law, good luck county,” said Peterson.
