The Legislative Assembly finds and declares that:
(1) The State of Oregon has abundant renewable resources.
(2) It is the goal of Oregon to:
(a) Promote the development of a diverse array of permanently sustainable energy resources using the public and private sectors to the highest degree possible; and
(b) Insure that rates for purchases by an electric utility from, and rates for sales to, a qualifying facility shall over the term of a contract be just and reasonable to the electric consumers of the electric utility, the qualifying facility and in the public interest.
(3) It is, therefore, the policy of the State of Oregon to:
(a) Increase the marketability of electric energy produced by qualifying facilities located throughout the state for the benefit of Oregon’s citizens; and
(b) Create a settled and uniform institutional climate for the qualifying facilities in Oregon.