Advanced nuclear energy

AN ACT Relating to integrating advanced nuclear energy into the 1
state energy strategy; adding a new section to chapter 43.21F RCW; 2
and creating a new section. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that:5
(a) Washington has established ambitious decarbonization policies 6
to shape energy consumption in the state, including:7
(i) Economy-wide greenhouse gas emission limits that reach 95 8
percent below 1990 levels by 2050, per chapter 70A.45 RCW; and9
(ii) Specific requirements that electricity sales to retail 10
electric customers be entirely from renewable or nonemitting sources, 11
beginning in 2045, per chapter 19.405 RCW; 12
(b) Overall in-state energy demand is expected to grow in coming 13
years. Rapidly occurring advances in computing, data storage, and 14
artificial intelligence, increases in electrification among 15
transportation and the built environment, decarbonization public 16
policies including the Washington clean energy transformation act, 17
pressure on existing energy sources, and more are expected to 18
contribute substantially to growing energy demand and necessitate the 19
build-out of new sources of reliable, stable, and affordable clean 20
power; 21
H-2466.1
HOUSE BILL 2090
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Representatives Barnard, Fitzgibbon, Reed, Leavitt, Parshley,
Zahn, Hall, Ley, Simmons, Connors, Berry, Keaton, Schmidt, Cortes,
Rule, Bronoske, Street, Duerr, Gregerson, Berg, Dye, Griffey, Dent,
Graham, and Salahuddin
Prefiled 12/02/25. Read first time 01/12/26. Referred to Committee
on Environment & Energy.
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(c) Washington's most recent electric utility fuel mix disclosure 1
report indicates that approximately 19 percent of electricity 2
currently supplied to Washington customers is generated from emitting 3
resources that must be supplanted to achieve the clean energy 4
transformation act's requirement that retail electricity be 5
greenhouse gas neutral by 2030 and entirely nonemitting by 2045. 6
Advanced nuclear power technologies offer a particularly efficient 7
pathway to replace these emitting resources because nuclear 8
generation operates at a significantly higher capacity factor than 9
wind or solar resources, thereby producing substantially more clean, 10
firm energy per unit of installed capacity. As a result, the addition 11
of advanced fission nuclear power can reduce the total number of new 12
generating facilities, transmission interconnections, and land area 13
otherwise required to meet Washington's decarbonization goals, which 14
will speed siting, while also providing stable, dispatchable output 15
necessary to ensure system reliability during periods of peak winter 16
energy demand, prolonged low-wind conditions, or reduced sunlight. 17
Integrating advanced nuclear power into Washington's energy portfolio 18
can therefore help the state to achieve its decarbonization goals 19
more rapidly, at lower systemwide cost, and with greater long-term 20
reliability than would be feasible if the state were to rely solely 21
on additional variable renewable resources to replace the emitting 22
generation identified in the 2023 fuel mix report;23
(d) Under current federal and state policy and tax incentive 24
structures, fission nuclear power technologies are increasingly 25
likely to be economically viable and technically and operationally 26
feasible options to build to meet the growing energy demand and the 27
state's required transition to cleaner energy. The feasibility of 28
adding new fission nuclear power sources into the state's clean 29
energy portfolio is furthered substantially by recent advancements in 30
nuclear power technologies, including the maturation of small modular 31
reactor proposals, new reactor design innovations, and spent fuel 32
solutions; 33
(e) Washington has a robust infrastructure of support for 34
advanced nuclear systems including, but not limited to, a highly 35
talented workforce in the Tri-Cities region, waste disposal policies 36
and programs, academic and research systems, interconnection, public 37
and private utility knowledge, and more; 38
(f) The current state energy strategy, which was last updated in 39
2020, relies on a number of assumptions that already appear outdated 40
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and unlikely to transpire as envisioned. These outdated assumptions 1
include forecasts that large volumes of wind and solar generation in 2
Wyoming and Montana would be developed in coming years, and that 3
sufficient new long distance transmission would be built to 4
accommodate the import of large volumes of electricity from other 5
states into Washington. By contrast, the 2021 state energy strategy 6
did not analyze certain, increasingly likely scenarios that would 7
increase the viability of the build-out of new nuclear generation 8
capacity. The 2024 state biennial energy report, released in 2025, 9
supports expanding technologies that are not currently financially 10
feasible without additional development. 11
(2) Therefore, in light of the urgency of the need for new power 12
sources to ensure a transition to clean energy and to power the 13
economy of the future, the department of commerce is directed to seek 14
nonstate funds to develop a nuclear power strategic framework to 15
assess strategies, benefits, and costs, including recommendations for 16
implementation, for ways that advanced nuclear deployment may add 17
incremental value to the state energy strategy in pursuit of its 18
policy and market goals. 19
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 43.21F 20
RCW to read as follows: 21
(1) Contingent upon the receipt of funds consistent with 22
subsection (5) of this section, the department must supplement the 23
state energy strategy by developing and publishing a nuclear power 24
strategic framework by December 15, 2026. The nuclear power strategic 25
framework must: 26
(a) Identify state objectives for the development of new fission 27
nuclear power generation, and key actions for specific government 28
entities, joint operating agencies, utilities, and other stakeholders 29
to ensure the inclusion of nuclear generation technologies in the 30
achievement and implementation of the state objectives;31
(b) Outline the processes, including financing, siting, 32
permitting, any appropriate tribal consultation, workforce issues, 33
and regulatory processes, anticipated to be navigated prior to new 34
fission nuclear power sources being constructed and generating power 35
in Washington; 36
(c) Assess both challenges and opportunities for the achievement 37
of new fission nuclear power generation objectives;38
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(d) Consider how the state can facilitate new fission nuclear 1
generation through strategic partnerships with nearby states, 2
including by potentially reducing costs through economies of scale 3
achieved via coordinated multistate actions; 4
(e) Include policy recommendations to support the implementation 5
of the framework, including consideration of regulatory reforms, tax 6
and financial supports, and education and workforce programs. In 7
making policy recommendations under this subsection, the department 8
must specifically consider, at a minimum: 9
(i) Whether expediting or curtailing state siting and permitting 10
requirements could avoid redundancy with federal regulations and 11
better reflect the urgency of the goals of chapters 70A.45 and 19.405 12
RCW; 13
(ii) Whether and how, through state policies, to provide 14
preference for, or expedited review of, the siting, construction, or 15
operation of new fission nuclear generation at sites:16
(A) Previously proposed and evaluated for nuclear projects, 17
including within the geographic footprint of the Hanford site managed 18
by the United States department of energy; and 19
(B) Previously used for coal or natural gas fired electrical 20
generation; 21
(iii) In light of the broad potential public benefits of bringing 22
new, clean sources of power to commercial fruition, mechanisms to 23
ensure that the financial risks of projects are appropriately 24
mitigated and do not present a prohibitive barrier to siting and 25
building new fission nuclear power sources; 26
(iv) Avoiding or mitigating the land use impact of the state 27
pursuing similar quantities of clean energy reliability and capacity 28
through nonnuclear generating resources; and 29
(f) Identify the anticipated impacts of the successful 30
development of new fission nuclear generation capacity in the state 31
on: 32
(i) Overall economic well-being; 33
(ii) Workforce development, including in industries served by the 34
expanded in-state electric generation capacity; and35
(iii) The satisfaction of goals for the electric sector, such as 36
reliability and affordability. 37
(2) The department must solicit guidance from members of the 38
energy strategy advisory committee convened for purposes of the state 39
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energy strategy due December 2020 under RCW 43.21F.090 in developing 1
the nuclear power strategic framework under this section.2
(3) The department must provide opportunities for public input on 3
the draft nuclear power strategic framework prior to finalizing it 4
including, but not limited to, making a draft of the framework 5
available for comment. 6
(4) The department must integrate the nuclear power strategic 7
framework developed under this section into the next review and 8
update of the state energy strategy. 9
(5) Consistent with the department's authority under RCW 10
43.330.040(2)(c), the department must seek gifts, grants, and other 11
contributions from nonstate sources to carry out the purposes and 12
provisions of this section. The requirement that the department 13
proceed with the nuclear power strategic framework takes effect only 14
upon the department's receipt of gifts, grants, or other 15
contributions in an amount sufficient to cover the department's costs 16
under this section, including all associated administrative costs or 17
costs to contract for work in support of the requirements of this 18
section. 19
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