Community solar projects

AN ACT Relating to improving accessibility of community solar 1
projects in Washington state; and amending RCW 80.28.370, 82.16.170, 2
82.16.182, 82.16.183, and 82.16.184. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 80.28.370 and 2017 3rd sp.s. c 36 s 10 are each 5
amended to read as follows: 6
The definitions in this section apply throughout this section and 7
RCW 80.28.375 unless the context clearly requires otherwise.8
(1) "Community solar company" means a person, firm, ((or)) 9
organization, corporation, ((other than an electric utility or a 10
community solar cooperative, that owns a community solar project and 11
provides community solar project services to project participants )) 12
community solar cooperative, or any other entity that owns a 13
community solar project or provides community solar project services 14
to project participants or subscribers, except that a community solar 15
company does not include an electric utility, tribal government, or 16
the sole participating low-income service provider of a community 17
solar project administering a community solar project and receiving 18
an incentive as described in RCW 82.16.183. 19
(2) "Community solar project" means a solar energy system that 20
has ((a direct current nameplate generating capacity that is no 21
H-1020.1
HOUSE BILL 1804
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Fey, Klicker, Duerr, Ybarra, Stuebe, Richards,
Doglio, Pollet, and Zahn
Read first time 02/03/25. Referred to Committee on Environment &
Energy.
p. 1 HB 1804
larger than one thousand kilowatts )), at a minimum, either two 1
subscribers or one low-income service provider subscriber, receiving 2
the benefits from the energy output of the system. 3
(3) "Community solar project services" ((means the provision of 4
electricity generated by a community solar project, or the provision 5
of the financial benefits associated with electricity generated by a 6
community solar project, to multiple project participants, and may 7
include other services associated with the use of the community solar 8
project such as system monitoring and maintenance, warranty 9
provisions, performance guarantees, and customer service )) includes, 10
but is not limited to, the following activities:11
(a) Marketing community solar project subscriptions;12
(b) Collecting funds that are intended to pay for a portion of a 13
community solar project or to purchase, subscribe to, or compensate 14
for benefits from a project's output;15
(c) Enrolling subscribers or project participants in a community 16
solar project;17
(d) Administering the energy or financial benefits from a 18
community solar project to its subscribers or participants; and19
(e) Soliciting or entering into contracts for interconnection of 20
a community solar project for the purpose of transferring the energy 21
benefits described in RCW 82.16.183 to project subscribers.22
(4) "Electric utility" means a consumer-owned utility or 23
investor-owned utility as those terms are defined in RCW 19.280.020.24
(5) "Project participant" means a customer who subscribes to, 25
enters into a lease, power purchase agreement, loan, or other 26
((financial)) agreement with a community solar company or other 27
community solar project administrator in order to obtain a beneficial 28
interest in, other than direct ownership of, a community solar 29
project. 30
(6) "Solar energy system" means any device or combination of 31
devices or elements that rely upon direct sunlight as an energy 32
source for use in the generation of electricity. 33
Sec. 2. RCW 82.16.170 and 2022 c 212 s 6 are each amended to 34
read as follows: 35
(1) The purpose of community solar programs is to facilitate 36
broad, equitable community investment in and access to solar power. 37
Beginning July 1, 2017, a community solar administrator may organize 38
and administer a community solar project as provided in this section. 39
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When the administrator is not a utility, tribal government, or sole 1
participating low-income service provider of the project, the 2
administrator must be registered with the commission as a community 3
solar company as required in RCW 80.28.375.4
(2) In order to receive certification for the incentive payment 5
provided under RCW 82.16.165(1) by June 30, 2021, a community solar 6
project must have a direct current nameplate capacity that is no more 7
than one thousand kilowatts and must have at least ten participants 8
or at least one participant for every ten kilowatts of direct current 9
nameplate capacity, whichever is greater. A community solar project 10
that has a direct current nameplate capacity greater than five 11
hundred kilowatts must be subject to a standard interconnection 12
agreement with the utility serving the situs of the community solar 13
project. Except for community solar projects authorized under 14
subsection (10) of this section, each participant must be a customer 15
of the utility providing service at the situs of the community solar 16
project. 17
(3) In order to receive certification for the incentive payment 18
provided under RCW 82.16.183 beginning July 1, 2022, a community 19
solar project must meet the following requirements:20
(a)(i) The administrator of the community solar project ((must be 21
a utility, nonprofit, or tribal housing authority that administers a 22
community solar project on tribal lands or lands held in trust for a 23
federally recognized tribe by the United States for subscribers who 24
are tribal members, or other local housing authority. The 25
administrator of the community solar project )) must apply for 26
precertification under RCW 82.16.183 on or after July 1, 2022;27
(ii) For the purposes of this section, "administrator" has the 28
same definition as in RCW 82.16.182;29
(b)(i) The community solar project must have a direct current 30
nameplate capacity that is greater than 12 kilowatts but no greater 31
than ((199)) 999 kilowatts, and must have at least two subscribers or 32
one low-income service provider subscriber; 33
(ii) At least 50 percent of available incentive payments provided 34
by the Washington State University extension energy program must be 35
reserved for projects 199 kilowatts or smaller;36
(iii) Prior to an administrator receiving an incentive payment, 37
any project with a capacity greater than 199 kilowatts and less than 38
or equal to 999 kilowatts must receive certification from the 39
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department of labor and industries that the project construction 1
includes: 2
(A) Apprenticeship utilization;3
(B) Compensation of workers at prevailing wage rates determined 4
by local collective bargaining;5
(C) A copy of the contractor's certificate of registration in 6
compliance with chapter 18.27 RCW, including:7
(I) The contractor's current state unified business identifier 8
number;9
(II) A copy of the contractor's proof of industrial insurance 10
coverage for the contractor's employees working in Washington as 11
required in Title 51 RCW;12
(III) Employment security department number as required in Title 13
50 RCW;14
(IV) A state excise tax registration number as required in Title 15
82 RCW; and16
(V) Documentation of the contractor's history of compliance with 17
federal or state wage and hour laws and regulations in a final and 18
binding order by an administrative agency or court of competent 19
jurisdiction in the past 24 months;20
(D) In the event that a business activity under this section is 21
without one or more of these standards, and a person demonstrates a 22
good faith effort to comply, the department of labor and industries 23
may certify that the person complied with the requirements under this 24
section; and25
(E) Nothing in this section supersedes RCW 19.28.091 or 19.28.261 26
or chapter 49.17 RCW, without regard to project cost;27
(c) The administrator of the community solar project must provide 28
a verified list of qualifying subscribers; 29
(d) Verification, in the form of self-attestation, that an 30
individual household subscriber meets the definition of low-income 31
must be provided to the administrator by an entity with authority to 32
maintain the confidentiality of the income status of the low-income 33
subscriber. If the providing entity incurs costs to verify a 34
subscriber's income status, the administrator must provide 35
reimbursement of those costs; 36
(e) Except for community solar projects authorized under 37
subsection (10) of this section, each subscriber must be a customer 38
of the utility providing service at the site of the community solar 39
project; 40
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(f) In the event that a low-income subscriber in a community 1
solar project certified under RCW 82.16.183 moves within 120 months 2
of system certification from the household premises of the 3
subscriber's current subscription to another, ((the)) either:4
(i) The subscriber may continue the subscription, provided that 5
the new household premises is served by the utility providing service 6
at the site of the community solar project ((. In the event that a 7
subscriber is no longer served by that utility or the subscriber 8
terminates participation in a community solar project certified under 9
RCW 82.16.183, the)); or10
(ii) The certification follows the system and participation must 11
be transferred by the administrator to a new qualifying subscriber as 12
specified in RCW 82.16.183 and keeping within the terms of the 13
interconnection agreement between the utility and the interconnected 14
customer; 15
(g) The administrator must include in the application for 16
precertification a project prospectus that demonstrates how the 17
administrator intends to provide direct benefits to qualifying 18
subscribers for the duration of their subscription to the community 19
solar project; and 20
(h) The length of the subscription term for low-income 21
subscribers must be the same length as for other subscribers, if 22
applicable. 23
(4) The administrator of a community solar project must 24
administer the project in a transparent manner that allows for fair 25
and nondiscriminatory opportunity for participation by utility 26
customers. 27
(5) The administrator of a community solar project may establish 28
a reasonable fee to cover costs incurred in organizing and 29
administering the community solar project. Project participants, 30
prior to making the commitment to participate in the project, must be 31
given clear and conspicuous notice of the portion of the incentive 32
payment that will be used for this purpose. 33
(6) The administrator of a community solar project must maintain 34
and update annually through June 30, 2030, the following information 35
for each project it operates or administers: 36
(a) Ownership information; 37
(b) Contact information for technical management questions;38
(c) Business address; 39
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(d) Project design details, including project location, output 1
capacity, equipment list, and interconnection information; and2
(e) Subscription information, including rates, fees, terms, and 3
conditions. 4
(7) The administrator of a community solar project must provide 5
the information required in subsection (6) of this section to the 6
Washington State University extension energy program at the time it 7
submits the applications allowed under RCW 82.16.165(1) and 8
82.16.183. 9
(8) The administrator of a community solar project must provide 10
each project participant with a disclosure form containing all 11
material terms and conditions of participation in the project, 12
including but not limited to the following: 13
(a) Plain language disclosure of the terms under which the 14
project participant's share of any incentive payment will be 15
calculated by the Washington State University extension energy 16
program; 17
(b) Contract provisions regulating the disposition or transfer of 18
the project participant's interest in the project, including any 19
potential costs associated with such a transfer; 20
(c) All recurring and nonrecurring charges; 21
(d) A description of the billing and payment procedures;22
(e) A description of any compensation to be paid in the event of 23
project underperformance; 24
(f) Current production projections and a description of the 25
methodology used to develop the projections; 26
(g) Contact information for questions and complaints; and27
(h) Any other terms and conditions of the services provided by 28
the administrator. 29
(9) A utility may not adopt rates, terms, conditions, or 30
standards that unduly or unreasonably discriminate between utility-31
administered community solar projects and those administered by 32
another entity. 33
(10) A public utility district that is engaged in distributing 34
electricity to more than one retail electric customer in the state 35
and a joint operating agency organized under chapter 43.52 RCW on or 36
before January 1, 2017, may enter into an agreement with each other 37
to construct and own a community solar project that is located on 38
property owned by a joint operating agency or on property that 39
receives electric service from a participating public utility 40
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district. Each participant of a community solar project under this 1
subsection must be a customer of at least one of the public utility 2
districts that is a party to the agreement with a joint operating 3
agency to construct and own a community solar project.4
(11) The Washington utilities and transportation commission must 5
publish, without disclosing proprietary information, a list of the 6
following: 7
(a) Entities other than utilities, including affiliates or 8
subsidiaries of utilities, that organize and administer community 9
solar projects; and 10
(b) Community solar projects and related programs and services 11
offered by investor-owned utilities. 12
(12) If a consumer-owned utility opts to provide a community 13
solar program or contracts with a nonutility administrator to offer a 14
community solar program, the governing body of the consumer-owned 15
utility must publish, without disclosing proprietary information, a 16
list of the nonutility administrators contracted by the utility as 17
part of its community solar program. 18
(13) Except for parties engaged in actions and transactions 19
regulated under laws administered by other authorities and exempted 20
under RCW 19.86.170, a violation of this section constitutes an 21
unfair or deceptive act in trade or commerce in violation of chapter 22
19.86 RCW, the consumer protection act. Acts in violation of chapter 23
36, Laws of 2017 3rd sp. sess. are not reasonable in relation to the 24
development and preservation of business, and constitute matters 25
vitally affecting the public interest for the purpose of applying the 26
consumer protection act, chapter 19.86 RCW. 27
(14) Nothing in this section may be construed as intending to 28
preclude persons from investing in or possessing an ownership 29
interest in a community solar project, or from applying for and 30
receiving federal investment tax credits. 31
(15) This section expires June 30, 2038. 32
Sec. 3. RCW 82.16.182 and 2022 c 212 s 4 are each amended to 33
read as follows: 34
(1) The definitions in this section apply throughout this section 35
and RCW 82.16.183 unless the context clearly requires otherwise.36
(a)(i) "Administrator" means the utility, nonprofit, tribal 37
government or tribal housing authority as provided in (a)(ii) of this 38
subsection, or affordable housing provider or other local housing 39
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authority that organizes and administers a community solar project as 1
provided in RCW 82.16.183 and 82.16.170. 2
(ii) A tribal government or tribal housing authority may only 3
administer a community solar project on tribal lands or lands held in 4
trust for a federally recognized tribe by the United States for 5
subscribers who are tribal members. 6
(b) "Certification" means the authorization issued by the 7
Washington State University extension energy program establishing a 8
community solar project administrator's eligibility to receive a low-9
income community solar incentive payment from the electric utility 10
serving the site of the community solar project, on behalf of, and 11
for the purpose of providing direct benefits to, its low-income 12
subscribers, low-income service provider subscribers, and tribal and 13
public agency subscribers. 14
(c)(i) "Community solar project" means a solar energy system 15
that: 16
(A) Has a direct current nameplate capacity that is greater than 17
12 kilowatts but no greater than ((199)) 999 kilowatts;18
(B) Has, at minimum, either two subscribers or one low-income 19
service provider subscriber; and 20
(C) Meets the applicable eligibility requirements in RCW 21
82.16.183. 22
(ii) A community solar project may include a storage system with 23
a solar energy system. 24
(d) "Consumer-owned utility" has the same meaning as in RCW 25
19.280.020. 26
(e) "Electric utility" or "utility" means a consumer-owned 27
utility or investor-owned utility as those terms are defined in RCW 28
19.280.020. 29
(f) "Energy assistance" has the same meaning as provided in RCW 30
19.405.020. 31
(g) "Energy burden" has the same meaning as provided in RCW 32
19.405.020. 33
(h) "Governing body" has the same meaning as provided in RCW 34
19.280.020. 35
(i)(i) "Installed cost" includes only the renewable energy system 36
components and fees that are integral and necessary for the 37
generation and storage of electricity. Components and fees include:38
(A) Solar modules and inverters; 39
(B) Battery systems; 40
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(C) Balance of system, such as racking, wiring, switch gears, and 1
meter bases; 2
(D) Nonhardware costs incurred up to the date of the final 3
electrical inspection, such as fees associated with engineering, 4
permitting, interconnection, and application; 5
(E) Labor; and 6
(F) Sales tax. 7
(ii) "Installed cost" does not include structures and fixtures 8
that are not integral and necessary to the generation or storage of 9
electricity, such as carports and roofing. 10
(j) "Interconnection customer" means the person, corporation, 11
partnership, government agency, or other entity that proposes to 12
interconnect, or has executed an interconnection agreement, with the 13
electric utility. 14
(k) "Low-income" has the same meaning as provided in RCW 15
19.405.020. 16
(l) "Low-income service provider" includes, but is not limited 17
to, a local community action agency or local community service agency 18
designated by the department of commerce under chapter 43.63A RCW, 19
local housing authority, tribal government or tribal housing 20
authority, low-income tribal housing program, affordable housing 21
provider, food bank, or other nonprofit organization that provides 22
services to low-income households as part of their core mission.23
(m) "Multifamily residential building" means a building 24
containing more than two sleeping units or dwelling units where 25
occupants are primarily permanent in nature. 26
(n) "Person" means an individual, firm, partnership, corporation, 27
company, association, agency, or any other legal entity.28
(o) "Preferred sites" means rooftops, structures, existing 29
impervious surfaces, landfills, brownfields, previously developed 30
sites, irrigation canals and ponds, stormwater collection ponds, 31
industrial areas, dual-use solar projects that ensure ongoing 32
agricultural operations, and other sites that do not displace 33
critical habitat or productive farmland as defined by state and 34
county planning processes. 35
(p) "Public agency" means any political subdivision of the state 36
including, but not limited to, municipal and county governments, 37
special purpose districts, and local housing authorities, but does 38
not include state agencies. 39
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(q)(i) Except as otherwise provided in (q)(ii) of this 1
subsection, "qualifying subscriber" means a low-income subscriber, 2
low-income service provider subscriber, tribal agency subscriber, or 3
public agency subscriber. 4
(ii) For tribal agency subscribers and public agency subscribers, 5
only the portion of their subscription to a community solar project 6
that is demonstrated to benefit low-income beneficiaries, including 7
low-income service providers and services provided to low-income 8
citizens or households, is to be considered a qualifying subscriber.9
(r) "Retail electric customer" has the same meaning as in RCW 10
80.60.010. 11
(s) "Subscriber" means a retail electric customer of an electric 12
utility who owns or is the beneficiary of one or more units of a 13
community solar project directly interconnected with that same 14
utility. 15
(t) "Subscription" means an agreement between a subscriber and 16
the administrator of a community solar project. 17
(u) "Tribal government" means any federally recognized Indian 18
tribe whose traditional lands and territories include parts of 19
Washington state.20
(2) This section expires June 30, 2038. 21
Sec. 4. RCW 82.16.183 and 2022 c 212 s 5 are each amended to 22
read as follows: 23
(1) Beginning July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2033, an 24
administrator of a community solar project meeting the eligibility 25
requirements described in this section and RCW 82.16.170(3) may 26
submit an application to the Washington State University extension 27
energy program to receive a precertification for a community solar 28
project. Projects with precertification applications approved by the 29
Washington State University extension energy program have two years 30
to complete their projects and apply for certification. Projects that 31
have not completed certification within two years may apply to the 32
Washington State University extension energy program for an extension 33
of their precertification status for an additional 180 days if they 34
can demonstrate significant progress during the time they were in 35
precertification status. By certifying qualified projects pursuant to 36
the requirements of this section and RCW 82.16.170(3), the Washington 37
State University extension energy program authorizes the utility 38
serving the site of a community solar project in the state of 39
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Washington to remit ((a one-time )) low-income community solar 1
incentive payments to the community solar project administrator, who 2
accepts the payment s on behalf of, and for the purpose of providing 3
direct benefits to, the project's qualifying subscribers. The 4
Washington State University extension energy program may provide 5
incentive payments prior to project certification in accordance with 6
subsection (4) of this section.7
(2) ((A one-time )) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this 8
section, a low-income community solar incentive payment remitted to a 9
community solar project administrator for a project certified under 10
this section equals the sum of the following: 11
(a) An amount, not to exceed $20,000 per community solar project, 12
equal to the community solar project's administrative costs related 13
to the administrative start-up of the project for qualifying 14
subscribers; and 15
(b) An amount that does not exceed 100 percent of the 16
proportional cost of the installed cost of the share of the community 17
solar project that provides direct benefits to qualifying 18
subscribers, taking into account any federal tax credits or other 19
federal or nonfederal grants or incentives that the program is 20
benefiting from. 21
(3) When the administrator is a utility that is purchasing energy 22
from a community solar project that it does not own, a low-income 23
community solar incentive payment remitted to the utility 24
administrator for a project certified under this section equals : The 25
cost for the utility to purchase power and the corresponding 26
renewable energy credits from a third-party owned community solar 27
project, under a power purchase agreement, for 10 years after project 28
certification for the portion of the project's energy output that 29
will provide direct benefits to qualifying subscribers over those 10 30
years, or until such time as funding has been fully distributed, 31
whichever comes later. All renewable energy credits must be retired 32
on behalf of program participants or participants must be compensated 33
for additional value from renewable energy credits. The incentives 34
under this subsection can only be used to pay for low-income customer 35
participation in the program. Utilities receiving incentives under 36
this subsection may not earn a rate of return on incentives certified 37
by the Washington State University extension energy program.38
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(4)(a) The Washington State University extension energy program 1
may provide incentive payments during the precertification process 2
for community solar projects that are not administered by a utility.3
(b) Incentive payments provided under this subsection must be 4
issued as follows:5
(i) An incentive payment shall be made for 50 percent of project 6
costs as identified in RCW 82.16.170(3)(g) upon precertification by 7
the Washington State University extension energy program;8
(ii) An incentive payment for all remaining costs shall be made 9
upon final certification by the Washington State University extension 10
energy program;11
(A) A project administrator may adjust cost estimates provided 12
under RCW 82.16.170(3)(g) by providing evidence of unavoidable cost 13
increases prior to certification.14
(B) The Washington State University extension energy program may 15
approve, reject, or approve partial additional costs submitted for 16
recovery by a community solar project administrator.17
(C) Costs identified and approved during precertification may not 18
be rejected unless the Washington State University extension energy 19
program determines there have been material changes to the project 20
design that eliminate the need for such costs.21
(c) Incentive payments authorized by the Washington State 22
University extension energy program and remitted prior to project 23
certification shall be deducted from the amount the utility is 24
provided to pay to the project administrator after project 25
certification.26
(d) In the event that a project receiving incentive payment prior 27
to certification does not achieve certification within two years, 28
achieves certification for a lesser incentive amount than what has 29
already been disbursed, or fails to provide direct benefits to the 30
share of qualifying subscribers used to calculate the incentive 31
payment, it is the responsibility of the administrator to remit 32
funding back to the Washington State University extension energy 33
program. After being notified by the Washington State University 34
extension energy program that they are required to do so, the 35
administrator must within 30 days remit a payment to the state for 36
the full amount of the incentive payment received under 37
precertification with interest. Interest must be assessed at the rate 38
provided for delinquent excise taxes under chapter 82.32 RCW, 39
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retroactively to the date the credit was claimed, and accrues until 1
the full amount of all amounts due are repaid. 2
(5) No new certification may be issued under this section for a 3
community solar project that was certified under RCW 82.16.120 or 4
82.16.165, or for a community solar project served by a utility that 5
has elected not to participate in the incentive program provided in 6
this section. 7
(((4))) (6) Community solar projects that are under 8
precertification status under RCW 82.16.165 as of June 30, 2020, may 9
not apply for precertification of that same project for the ((one-10
time)) low-income community solar incentive payment provided in this 11
section. 12
(((5))) (7)(a) In addition to the ((one-time)) low-income 13
community solar incentive payment s under subsection s (2), (3), and 14
(4) of this section, a participating utility must also provide the 15
following compensation for the generation of electricity from the 16
certified project: 17
(i) For a community solar project that has an alternating current 18
nameplate capacity no greater than 100 kilowatts, and that is 19
connected behind the electric service meter, compensation must be 20
determined in accordance with RCW 80.60.020 and provided to the 21
retail electric customer receiving service at the situs of the meter.22
(ii) For all other community solar projects for which the 23
administrator is not a utility, compensation paid to the 24
interconnection customer must be determined in a written agreement 25
between the interconnection customer and the utility.26
(iii) For all other community solar projects for which the 27
administrator is a utility, compensation must be provided directly to 28
subscribers in accordance with subsection (((8))) (10)(a)(i) of this 29
section. 30
(iv)(A) When the administrator of a community solar project 31
receives compensation for the generation of electricity from a 32
participating utility, interconnection customer, or from the retail 33
electric customer that is the host for the community solar project, 34
the administrator must provide all of that compensation as a direct 35
benefit to the project subscribers, except as described in (iv)(B) of 36
this subsection. 37
(B) An administrator may deduct ongoing administrative and 38
maintenance costs from compensation they provide to subscribers from 39
power generation, provided those costs are identified in the 40
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subscription agreement ((or justified to )) and approved by the 1
Washington State University extension energy program. The Washington 2
State University extension energy program shall review any such 3
administrative and maintenance costs justifications for 4
reasonableness and approve, reject, or negotiate changes to the 5
proposal. An administrator may request a change in the deduction for 6
administrative and maintenance costs ((to the Washington State 7
University extension energy program only )) when there is an unplanned 8
maintenance or repair cost if the subscription agreement includes 9
language notifying the subscriber that administrative and maintenance 10
fees are subject to change. If an administrator requests this change, 11
notice must be provided to the subscribers of the fee change and 12
provide a reason for the additional deduction.13
(b) For 10 years after certification, and by March 1st of each 14
year following certification, the administrator must provide the 15
Washington State University extension energy program with signed 16
statements of the following for the preceding year:17
(i) The energy production for the period for which compensation 18
is to be provided; 19
(ii) Each subscriber's units of the project; 20
(iii) The amount disbursed to each subscriber for the period . If 21
a utility project administrator administered a community solar 22
project certified under subsection (3) of this section, the utility 23
project administrator must report the amount paid out for low-income 24
customer participation, and the remaining balance of the Washington 25
State University extension energy program's authorized incentive 26
payment; and 27
(iv) The date and amount disbursed to each subscriber.28
(c) Starting in fiscal year 2026, the Washington State University 29
extension energy program must provide a report every even-numbered 30
year to the legislature. The report must include the number of 31
projects certified, number of subscribers per project, and total 32
benefits resulting from all projects. 33
(((6))) (8) A utility's participation in the incentive program 34
provided in this section is voluntary. 35
(a) The utility may terminate its voluntary participation in the 36
program by providing notice in writing to the Washington State 37
University extension energy program to cease accepting new 38
applications for precertification for community solar projects that 39
would be served by that utility. Such notice of termination of 40
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participation is effective after 15 days, at which point the 1
Washington State University extension energy program may not accept 2
new applications for precertification for community solar projects 3
that would be served by that utility. 4
(b) Upon receiving a utility's notice of termination of 5
participation in the incentive program, the Washington State 6
University extension energy program must report on its website that 7
community solar project customers of that utility are no longer 8
eligible to receive new certifications under the program.9
(c) A utility that has terminated participation in the program 10
may resume participation upon filing a notice with the Washington 11
State University extension energy program.12
(d) Utilities are encouraged to participate in this program by 13
applying eligible costs and tax credits to obligations under RCW 14
19.405.120. 15
(((7))) (9)(a) The Washington State University extension energy 16
program may issue certifications authorizing incentive payments under 17
this section in a total statewide amount not to exceed $100,000,000, 18
and subject to the following biennial dollar limits:19
(i) For fiscal year 2023, $300,000; and 20
(ii) For each biennium beginning on or after July 1, 2023, 21
$25,000,000. 22
(b) The Washington State University extension energy program must 23
attempt to equitably distribute incentive funds throughout the state. 24
Considerations for equitable fund distribution, based on 25
precertification applications received from administrators served by 26
utilities voluntarily participating in the program, may include 27
measures to reserve or allocate available funds based on the 28
proportion of public utility taxes collected, the proportion of the 29
state's low-income customers served by each utility based on low-30
income home energy assistance program data at the department of 31
commerce, measures to achieve an equitable geographic distribution of 32
community solar installations and a diversity of administrative 33
models for community solar projects, and the amount of energy burden 34
reduction for qualifying subscribers relative to the project's cost. 35
If an equitable distribution of funds is not feasible due to a lack 36
of precertification applications, the Washington State University 37
extension energy program may allocate funds based on (a) of this 38
subsection on a first-come, first-served basis. 39
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(c) The Washington State University extension energy program must 1
ensure that at least $2,000,000 of the statewide total for the entire 2
program is used to support nonprofit organizations' innovative 3
approaches to allocating benefits to subscribers, defining and 4
valuing benefits to be provided to subscribers or other aspects of 5
the subscriber, administrator, system host, and utility relationship.6
(d) The Washington State University extension energy program must 7
also ensure that at least $2,000,000 of the statewide total for the 8
entire program is available to tribal governments and their 9
designated subdivisions and agencies. 10
(e) The Washington State University extension energy program must 11
ensure that no more than 35 percent of available funding goes to 12
utility project administrators for community solar projects certified 13
under subsection (3) of this section.14
(f) The Washington State University extension energy program 15
shall regularly publish and update guidelines for how it manages the 16
allocation of available funding, based on the evaluation of 17
applications and the factors specified in (b) of this subsection.18
(((f))) (g) Beginning in fiscal year 2026, the Washington State 19
University extension energy program may waive the requirements in (c) 20
or (d) of this subsection if it fails to receive applications that 21
meet the criteria of (c) or (d) of this subsection sufficient to 22
result in the full allocation of incentives. 23
(((8))) (10)(a) Prior to obtaining certification under this 24
section, the administrator of a community solar project must apply 25
for precertification against the funds available for incentive 26
payments under subsection (((7))) (9) of this section in order to be 27
guaranteed an incentive payment under this section. The application 28
for precertification must include, at a minimum: 29
(i) A demonstration of how the project will deliver continuing 30
direct benefits to low-income subscribers. A direct benefit can 31
include credit for the power generation for the community solar 32
project or other mechanisms that lower the energy burden of a low-33
income subscriber; and 34
(ii) Any other information the Washington State University 35
extension energy program deems necessary in determining eligibility 36
for precertification. 37
(b) The administrator of a community solar project must complete 38
an application for certification in accordance with the requirements 39
of subsection (((9))) (11) of this section within less than two years 40
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of being approved for precertification status. The administrator must 1
submit a project update to the Washington State University extension 2
energy program after one year in precertification status.3
(((9))) (11) To obtain certification for the ((one-time)) 4
community solar incentive payment provided under this section, a 5
project administrator must submit to the Washington State University 6
extension energy program an application, including, at a minimum:7
(a) A signed statement that the applicant has not previously 8
received a notice of eligibility from the department under RCW 9
82.16.120 or the Washington State University extension energy program 10
under RCW 82.16.165 entitling the applicant to receive annual 11
incentive payments for electricity generated by the community solar 12
project at the same meter location; 13
(b) A signed statement of the costs paid by the administrator 14
related to administering the project for qualifying subscribers;15
(c) A signed statement of the total project costs, including the 16
proportional cost of the share of the community solar project that 17
provides direct benefits to qualifying subscribers;18
(d) A signed statement describing the amount of the upfront 19
incentive and the timing, method, and distribution of estimated 20
benefits to qualifying subscribers. The statement must describe any 21
estimated energy burden reduction associated with the direct 22
benefits; 23
(e) Available system operation data, such as global positioning 24
system coordinates, tilt, estimated shading, and azimuth;25
(f) Any other information the Washington State University 26
extension energy program deems necessary in determining eligibility 27
and incentive levels or administering the program;28
(g)(i) Except as provided in (g)(ii) of this subsection (((9))) 29
(11), the date that the community solar project received its final 30
electrical inspection from the applicable local jurisdiction, as well 31
as a copy of the permit or, if the permit is available online, the 32
permit number or other documentation deemed acceptable by the 33
Washington State University extension energy program;34
(ii) The Washington State University extension energy program may 35
waive the requirement in (g)(i) of this subsection (((9))) (11), 36
accepting an application and granting provisional certification prior 37
to proof of final electrical inspection. Provisional certification 38
expires 180 days after issuance, unless the applicant submits proof 39
of the final electrical inspection from the applicable local 40
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jurisdiction or the Washington State University extension energy 1
program extends certification, for a term or terms of 30 days, due to 2
extenuating circumstances; 3
(h) Confirmation of the number of qualifying subscribers;4
(i) A copy of the executed agreement describing how benefits will 5
be determined and distributed from the retail electric customer or 6
interconnection customer to the administrator if the administrator 7
and the retail electric customer or interconnection customer are not 8
the same. The Washington State University extension energy program 9
must review the executed agreement to determine that benefits are 10
being fairly determined and that there is an adequate plan for 11
distributing the benefits; and 12
(j) Any other information the Washington State University 13
extension energy program deems necessary in determining eligibility 14
and incentive levels or administering the program.15
(((10) No)) (12) Except as described in subsection (4) of this 16
section, no incentive payments may be authorized or accrued until the 17
final electrical inspection and executed interconnection agreement 18
are submitted to the Washington State University extension energy 19
program. 20
(((11))) (13)(a) The Washington State University extension energy 21
program must review each project for which an application for 22
certification is submitted in accordance with subsection (((8))) (10) 23
of this section for reasonable cost and financial structure, with a 24
targeted installed cost for the solar energy system of $2 per watt 25
direct current for systems over 200 kilowatts and $2.25 per watt 26
direct current for systems equal to or under 200 kilowatts. For solar 27
energy systems that include storage systems, the targeted installed 28
cost of the storage system is $600 per kilowatt-hour of storage 29
capacity. The Washington State University extension energy program 30
may adjust the targeted installation costs on an annual basis and may 31
request additional justification of costs for any project that it 32
deems unreasonable.33
(b) The Washington State University extension energy program may 34
approve an application for a project that costs more or less than the 35
targeted installed costs under (a) of this subsection based on a 36
review of the project, documents submitted by the project applicant, 37
and available data. Project cost evaluations may include costs 38
associated with energy storage systems , interconnection costs, and 39
((electrical)) distribution system improvements ((to permit grid-40
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independent operation )) required to meet utility interconnection 1
standards. Applicants may petition the Washington State University 2
extension energy program to approve a higher cost per watt or per 3
kilowatt-hour for unusual circumstances. 4
(c) The Washington State University extension energy program may 5
review the cost per watt target under (a) of this subsection prior to 6
each fiscal biennium and is authorized to determine a new cost per 7
watt target. 8
(((12))) (14)(a) Within 30 days of receipt of an application for 9
certification, the Washington State University extension energy 10
program must notify the applicant and, except when a utility is the 11
applicant, the utility serving the site of the community solar 12
project, by mail or electronically, whether certification has been 13
granted. The certification notice must state the total dollar amount 14
of the low-income community solar incentive payment for which the 15
applicant is eligible under this section. 16
(b) Within 60 days of receipt of a notification under (a) of this 17
subsection, the utility serving the site of the community solar 18
project must remit the applicable ((one-time)) low-income community 19
solar incentive payment s to the project administrator, who accepts 20
the payment s on behalf of, and for the purpose of providing direct 21
benefits to, the project's qualifying subscribers.22
(((13))) (15)(a) Certification follows the community solar 23
project if the following conditions are met using procedures 24
established by the Washington State University extension energy 25
program: 26
(i) The community solar project is transferred to a new owner who 27
notifies the Washington State University extension energy program of 28
the transfer; 29
(ii) The new owner provides an executed interconnection agreement 30
with the utility serving the site of the community solar project; and31
(iii) The new owner agrees to provide equivalent ongoing benefits 32
to qualifying subscribers as the current owner. 33
(b) In the event that a qualifying subscriber terminates their 34
participation in a community solar project during the first 120 35
months after project certification, the system certification follows 36
the project and participation must be transferred to a new qualifying 37
subscriber. 38
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(((14))) (16) Beginning January 1, 2023, the Washington State 1
University extension energy program must post on its website and 2
update at least monthly a report, by utility, of: 3
(a) The number of certifications issued for community solar 4
projects; and 5
(b) An estimate of the amount of credit that has not yet been 6
allocated for low-income community solar incentive payments and that 7
remains available for new community solar project certifications in 8
the state. 9
(((15))) (17) Persons receiving incentive payments under this 10
section must keep and preserve, for a period of five years for the 11
duration of the consumer contract, suitable records as may be 12
necessary to determine the amount of incentive payments applied for 13
and received. 14
(((16))) (18) The nonpower attributes of the community solar 15
project must be retired on behalf of the subscribers unless, in the 16
case of a utility-owned community solar project, a contract between 17
the subscriber and utility that benefits the subscriber clearly 18
states that the attributes will be retained and retired by the 19
utility. 20
(((17))) (19) All lists, technical specifications, 21
determinations, and guidelines developed under this section must be 22
made publicly available online by the Washington State University 23
extension energy program. 24
(((18))) (20) The Washington State University extension energy 25
program may, through a public process, develop program requirements, 26
policies, and processes necessary for the administration or 27
implementation of this section. 28
(((19))) (21) Applications, certifications, requests for 29
incentive payments under this section, and the information contained 30
therein are not deemed tax information under RCW 82.32.330 and are 31
subject to disclosure. 32
(((20))) (22) No certification may be issued under this section 33
by the Washington State University extension energy program for a 34
community solar project after June 30, 2035. 35
(((21))) (23) Community solar projects certified under this 36
section must be sited on preferred sites to protect natural and 37
working lands as determined by the Washington State University 38
extension energy program. 39
(((22))) (24) This section expires June 30, 2038.40
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Sec. 5. RCW 82.16.184 and 2022 c 212 s 3 are each amended to 1
read as follows: 2
(1) Beginning July 1, 2022, a light and power business is allowed 3
a credit against taxes due under this chapter in an amount equal to 4
incentive payments made in any fiscal year under RCW 82.16.183.5
(2) The credits must be taken in a form and manner as required by 6
the department. The credit taken under this section for the fiscal 7
year may not exceed 1.5 percent of the business's taxable Washington 8
power sales generated in calendar year 2014 and due under RCW 9
82.16.020(1)(b) or $250,000, whichever is greater, for incentive 10
payments made for community solar projects that submit an application 11
for precertification under RCW 82.16.183 on or after July 1, 2022, 12
and that are certified for an incentive payment or eligible for an 13
incentive payment upon precertification under RCW 82.16.183 in 14
accordance with the terms of that precertification by June 30, 2033.15
(3) The credit may not exceed the tax that would otherwise be due 16
under this chapter. Refunds may not be granted in the place of 17
credits. 18
(4) For any business that has claimed credit for amounts that 19
exceed the correct amount of the incentive payable under RCW 20
82.16.183, the amount of tax against which credit was claimed for the 21
excess payments is immediately due and payable. The department may 22
deduct amounts from future credits claimed by the business.23
(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, the department 24
must assess interest but not penalties on the taxes against which the 25
credit was claimed. Interest may be assessed at the rate provided for 26
delinquent excise taxes under chapter 82.32 RCW, retroactively to the 27
date the credit was claimed, and accrues until the taxes against 28
which the credit was claimed are repaid. 29
(b) A business is not liable for excess payments made in reliance 30
on amounts reported by the Washington State University extension 31
energy program as due and payable as provided under RCW 82.16.183, if 32
such amounts are later found to be abnormal or inaccurate due to no 33
fault of the business. 34
(5) The amount of credit taken under this section is not 35
confidential taxpayer information under RCW 82.32.330 and is subject 36
to disclosure. 37
(6) The right to earn tax credits for incentive payments made 38
under RCW 82.16.183 expires June 30, 2036. Credits may not be claimed 39
under this section after June 30, 2037. 40
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(7) This section expires June 30, 2038. 1
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