DEQ tells House panel Oregon's Clean Fuels Program is accelerating decarbonization but rural gaps remain

The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality told the House Climate, Energy and Environment Committee on Feb. 24 that the state's Clean Fuels Program is accelerating the shift away from liquid fossil fuels but that benefits and fuel options remain uneven across the state.

"Since 2016, the program has supported the displacement of over 1,000,000,000 gallons of fossil fuels," Colin McConaughey, lead for DEQ's greenhouse-gas programs, said during an informational briefing. He told the committee the program has reduced greenhouse-gas emissions by about 16,000,000 tons and helped channel more than $240,000,000 in investments into electric vehicles and charging infrastructure.

DEQ described the program as a credit-and-deficit market tied to gradually stricter carbon-intensity standards. "Those carbon intensity standards are life cycle based," McConaughey said, explaining that importers of dirtier fuels accumulate deficits while producers or importers of cleaner fuels generate credits that can be sold or retired to meet compliance.

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