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Jeff Bissonnette: Moving Over to the Sunny (Solar) Side

Sometimes change is an exciting way forward and sometimes change comes as a loss. And sometimes, it is both. To that end we are both excited and sad to announce that after 17½ years, Policy Director Jeff Bissonnette will be leaving CUB to become the Executive Director of the Oregon Solar Energy Industries Association (OSEIA).

Jeff joined me here at CUB in 1998 leading the Fair and Clean Energy Coalition to take on Enron and create progressive energy policy for Oregon, which resulted in the formation of The Energy Trust. For about the last 15 years he has directed our legislative advocacy, and our policy development. On issues from utility taxes and the current RPS, to appliance standards, to the current Oregon Clean Electricity & Coal Transition Plan, Jeff has made a real impact for Oregon households. Over the years he has also represented CUB on the boards of such agencies as Renewable Northwest and the NW Energy Coalition, as well as the PUC’s Portfolio Options Committee.

Jeff has a rare combination of expertise, tenacity, and patience that makes him a tremendous advocate. Just this week, Jeff used his skills to forge an agreement between PGE and industrial customers which will ensure that PGE continues to acquire all cost effective energy efficiency. This latest effort adds to his sizable legacy.

In celebration of Jeff’s new opportunity, we are having an open house on Friday, January 29, 2016 from 4:30pm – 6:30pm at our office: 600 SW Broadway Suite 400. Please stop by to say congratulations and good-luck, and partake in a bit of refreshment. To RSVP, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Let me conclude by saying that I am excited for Jeff’s new opportunity as the leader of the state’s premier coalition of solar industry providers, and at the same time I feel the acute loss of a wise partner and an astute lobbyist with a deep understanding of how energy issues affect consumers. In his 17 years at CUB, Jeff has had a really oversized impact on the state’s energy policy. Jeff’s advocacy on energy efficiency alone has saved Oregon households millions of dollars and has avoided the need to build expensive, polluting power plants.

Good luck Jeff, from all of us at CUB.

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12/27/16  |  1 Comment  |  Jeff Bissonnette: Moving Over to the Sunny (Solar) Side

Comments
  • 1.Well, I tried to lure Jeff away from CUB to work for the Coalition a couple of times, but never succeeded. Except in getting him to take on the Chair for an extremely challenging two year term, recently ended. Jeff has been a force for all that's good in our decades long campaign for a clean and affordable energy future. Willing to do the hard, and sometimes boring, sometimes fractious work that keeps organizations effective and thriving. Also willing to be an inspiration to all of us with eloquence and insight. A great win for OSEIA and loss for CUB, but I know he will keep CUB and NWEC in his big heart.

    Sara Patton | January 2016

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