Earlier this year, a mandate was signed into law that will make Oregon the first state in the nation to ban coal as a power source. The mandate calls for an end to coal production in 2020 when the state’s last coal-fired plant in Boardman is scheduled to close.

Opponents of the plan are warning that rate hikes will soon follow.

Fox News reported that while coal production will end once the Boardman plant shutters in 2020 – utilities would still be able to buy coal power from out of state for another 10 years, until a 2030 deadline to end coal use entirely.

"This is basically a wind mandate," said the Cascade Policy Institute's John Charles, while suggesting alternative energy sources won’t be able to meet the state’s needs. "There's no way wind can physically power the grid because days, weeks on end, wind produces zero."

Coal has been in decline for years. In 2005, coal made up 51 percent of the electricity used in the U.S. Last year, it met 40 percent of the need.
In Oregon, coal power still fills one-third of the electricity demand. Despite a building boom, renewables such as wind and solar power make up just 8 percent of the electricity portfolio.

The major utilities supported the coal ban even though officials can't say for sure how the power will be replaced.

A major problem could be getting any new power to the grid. A U.S. Chamber of Commerce report, titled “Project No Project,” found 351 recent ventures that never got built -- 140 of the projects were for renewable power. Many were killed due to legal challenges from environmental groups.

Bill Kovacs, from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said there are 42,000 pages of federal environmental regulations‎.

"Virtually anything you can find that's in federal law that isn't being complied with can be used as the basis of a lawsuit to stop the project," Kovacs said.

One example of this is playing out in Oregon, where renewable power has become more critical due to the coal ban. The 133-turbine, 399 MW Saddle Butte Wind Park proposed for a large piece of land in Eastern Oregon near Boardman has been under challenge for several years. The developer, fed up with the lengthy process, has stopped paying $30,000 in fees he owes the state.