Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski wants the state to continue its aggressive embrace of sustainability, tanking economy be damned.

The governor has put out a package of 10 bills (5 each in the house and senate) that would clean up the Oregon skies as well as create jobs.

The Governor's "climate package" includes initiatives for all of the major green categories -- energy efficiency, renewable energy, transportation and green building. The most controversial measure could be moving the state one step closer to a carbon cap and trade system.

Senate bill SB 80 creates a task force to device a carbon cap and trade system that after public review could be crafted into legislation would be ready for the 2011 legislature. Oregon is part of the Western Climate Initiative that seeks to implement a regional cap and trade by 2012, according to Dave Van't Hof, the Governor's Sustainability Advisor.

At a public briefing on the governor's climate plan, Van't Hof said the issues surrounding the cap and trade legislation "are so complex that we can't see any real chance of getting them debated in this session."

New coal power plants would be all but verboten in Oregon if SB 101 becomes law. The law requires all new energy sources to be at least as clean as a natural gas power plant. Also, long term energy contracts would have to use only facilities that meet this same stringent standard.

Van't Hof said Kulongoski wants his state to own the wave energy sector in the U.S. from "from R&D to commercialization." As part of that initiative, SB 168 opens up state lands and buildings to renewable energy projects including wave and tide projects.

The governor has a 100 percent renewable energy initiative for all state buildings and universities, and is making great strides to that end. The Oregon Institute of Technology is building a geothermal energy plant onsite and will soon become the first to get all of its power from underground heat energy.

The adoption of renewable energy in Oregon could rise significantly if HB 2121 that establishes a production tax credit is passed. Paying customers per kWh for wind or solar power has been wildly successful in Germany and Spain, and could prompt solar panels to be installed in even the cloudiest parts of Oregon.

This year's legislation first and foremost focuses on cleaning up transit, Van't Hof said. Including in the legislative package are bills that require reducing the carbon density of fuel, funding for public transit and bicycle initiatives, and establishes vehicle mile traveled (VMT) reduction goals for each region of the state. The Oregon Department of Transportation would also be required to develop a least cost model for solving transportation problems. "... Infrastructure doesn't have to be in conflict with reducing greenhouse gases," Van't Hof said, describing the consideration of expanding roads to fix traffic woes.

One potential loser amongst the green legislative goodies: people who plan on buying a Prius. The $1,500 tax credit for hybrid vehicles would end, replaced by a $5,000 tax credit for plug-in or all electric vehicles. Oregon, which currently has the highest density of hybrid owners in the country, wants to be the epicenter of the next generation of electric vehicles. Nissan recently announced that it would bring its all-electric car to the U.S. first in Oregon in 2010.

Energy efficiency is also included in the package of bills, which the governor hopes can be passed as one collective initiative. A fund that would offer up to $4 million to weatherize low-income family homes is included, as well as a new energy fund that would expand the Business Energy Tax credit for industrial-scale energy efficiency investments from 35 to 50 percent.

Getting the legislation passed "in this economic environment is going to be a real challenge," Van't Hof conceded. However, with unemployment at 9 percent in the state, some legislators may be inclined to vote yes. Clean energy is the "only place where we've seen job growth in the past few years, so it's a small silver lining in a very cloudy economic environment."

Climate Solutions, non-profit advocating action on climate change, supports Kulongoski's plan, and is holding a citizen rally on February 10 in Salem to get people to push their representatives to approve the legislation.