Boardman consumed five and half tons of coal every minute of its operation at full capacity, creating 2 million tons of greenhouse gases every year. Its closure ended the haze and air pollution cause by mercury and sulphur emissions in the surround area and the scenic Columbia Gorge. PGE replaced Boardman's 585 kilowatt capacity with a mix of alternatives including nature gas. Its natural gas facility sits across the road from where Boardman churned out the kilowatts, rain or shine. Critics of clean energy say alternatives like wind and solar cannot supply base loads as reliably as dirty coal-fired facilities. Boardman used a low-sulphur fuel brought in by rail from Wyoming's Powder River basin, the largest coal field in the USA. Still, the burning produced tons of pollution that sullied the atmosphere.
The plant's 125 permanent jobs were coveted for their high pay and benefits, and Morrow County benefited from the taxes PGE paid as its largest taxpayer. But the area has mitigated the plant closure's economic impact by diversifying its economy with alternative energy projects and Amazon.com data centers. Oregon has demonstrated an aggressive push towards carbon neutral energy. It passed legislation to end coal-fired generation off the grid by 2030, and reach zero emissions for all electrical utilities by 2040. Over the next year, eight coal fired plants will shut down that produce enough energy to run 3.8 million homes. PGE expects the Boardman plant to be fully decommissioned and cleaned up by the spring of 2023.