Clean energy development

AN ACT Relating to accelerating the development of clean energy 1
and transmission; amending RCW 43.330.120; adding new sections to 2
chapter 43.330 RCW; and creating a new section. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that Washington must 5
accelerate the pace of development for clean energy projects and 6
electrical transmission facilities. The 2021 state energy strategy 7
projects that Washington state must nearly double electricity 8
consumption by 2050 to meet the state's greenhouse gas emissions 9
limits and achieve the targets set by chapter 19.405 RCW, the 10
Washington clean energy transformation act. According to a 2023 net 11
zero northwest study by the clean energy transition institute, 12
meeting Washington's 2050 electricity needs through the most 13
economically and technically efficient pathway will require building 14
approximately 2/3 of this additional electricity generation in-state 15
while also importing approximately 1/3 from out-of-state sources. 16
According to the 2022 transmission corridors work group report, 17
increased electricity demand will require significant increases in 18
both in-state and interstate electrical transmission capacity within 19
a relatively short time frame. Developing clean energy generation 20
projects and additional electrical transmission capacity is essential 21
Z-0323.1
SENATE BILL 5359
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Shewmake, Hasegawa, Nobles, Salomon, and Stanford; by
request of Department of Commerce
Read first time 01/20/25. Referred to Committee on Environment,
Energy & Technology.
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to: Meeting the state's climate goals; growing family-wage clean 1
energy jobs and innovative clean energy businesses and manufacturing 2
that provide economic benefits across the state; and ensuring 3
adequate, reliable, and affordable clean energy for residents and 4
businesses. 5
The legislature further finds that recent legislatively mandated 6
studies identified significant concerns that impede the development 7
of clean energy projects and electrical transmission facilities, 8
unrelated to the regulatory process. These impediments include a lack 9
of information related to clean energy projects, uncertainty over 10
clean energy project impacts and benefits, inadequate engagement with 11
tribes and communities, uncertainty regarding clean energy 12
development under local zoning codes, and insufficient statewide 13
planning to guide development of clean energy projects and electrical 14
transmission facilities. 15
Therefore, the legislature intends for this act to establish a 16
framework for the state to provide the information, planning, and 17
support needed to accelerate the pace of development for clean energy 18
projects and electrical transmission facilities, while also 19
protecting the environment, overburdened communities, and tribal 20
rights, interests, and resources, including cultural resources, and 21
bringing benefits to the communities that host clean energy projects. 22
This act creates a clean energy development office to: Provide 23
trusted information to the public and others; support planning and 24
development of clean energy generation and transmission; and provide 25
support to tribes, communities, and local governments as they 26
consider proposals for clean energy projects and electrical 27
transmission facilities. 28
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The definitions in this section apply 29
throughout sections 3 through 6 of this act unless the context 30
clearly requires otherwise.31
(1) "Clean energy project" has the same meaning as defined in 32
RCW 43.158.010. 33
(2) "Department" means the department of commerce.34
(3) "Director" means the director of the department.35
(4) "Electrical transmission facilities" has the same meaning as 36
defined in RCW 43.158.010. 37
(5) "Office" means the clean energy development office 38
established in section 3 of this act. 39
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(6) "Overburdened communities" has the same meaning as defined in 1
RCW 70A.02.010. 2
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) The clean energy development office is 3
established within the department. The office may employ staff as 4
necessary to carry out the office's duties as prescribed by this act, 5
subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific 6
purpose.7
(2) The purpose of the office is to provide proactive leadership 8
and coordination with other agencies to: 9
(a) Assemble and share information to guide and support siting of 10
clean energy projects and electrical transmission facilities;11
(b) Conduct planning and development functions to help achieve 12
adequate, reliable, and affordable clean energy generation, 13
manufacturing, and transmission; and 14
(c) Support tribes, local governments, and communities to enhance 15
local and equitable benefits associated with clean energy projects.16
(3) The definitions in section 2 of this act apply throughout 17
this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.18
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) Subject to the availability of amounts 19
appropriated for this specific purpose, the office may:20
(a) Develop publicly available internet-based geospatial 21
capabilities and visualization information to support clean energy 22
siting, assessment, and tracking; 23
(b) Provide information on clean energy technologies to enhance 24
public understanding of commonly utilized and emerging technologies 25
and to clarify the state of knowledge regarding best practices, 26
environmental impacts, risks, mitigation, and other relevant aspects 27
of these technologies; 28
(c) Provide information to encourage clean energy developers to 29
site clean energy projects in Washington state. The office may 30
develop, collect, and provide information on resources available to 31
support clean energy development including, but not limited to: 32
Guidance on working with tribes, communities, and permitting 33
authorities; regulatory pathways, processes, and support; funding and 34
tax preferences; community benefits agreements and project labor 35
agreements; geospatial information; and electrical transmission 36
interconnection. The office may collaborate with the office of 37
economic development and competitiveness on recruitment and support 38
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for new projects. The office may also engage local economic 1
development organizations to identify resources and opportunities;2
(d) Explore opportunities to accelerate upgrades to existing 3
clean energy generating facilities. The office may identify needs, 4
barriers, and opportunities to increase the generating capacity of 5
existing clean energy generating facilities, such as wind and solar 6
facilities, through technological improvements; 7
(e) Collaborate with other state agencies as appropriate to 8
identify best practices to support local governments in siting and 9
permitting emerging clean energy technologies. The office may address 10
issues and concerns regarding emerging clean energy technologies 11
including, but not limited to, safety, emergency response, zoning, 12
siting, and permitting. The office may support development of a menu 13
of options or templates for local government policies and regulations 14
related to emerging clean energy technologies that local 15
jurisdictions can tailor to their needs; 16
(f) Support tribally led clean energy development and provide 17
liaison support, technical assistance, assistance in accessing 18
federal and state funding, and other support to tribes or tribally 19
owned enterprises who may want to develop their own clean energy 20
projects; 21
(g) Develop guidance and templates for community benefits 22
agreements and project labor agreements to support clean energy 23
project developers and local communities in identifying and 24
mitigating project impacts and enhancing the benefits communities and 25
workers receive from clean energy projects; 26
(h) Provide technical assistance for communities and developers 27
to create community benefits agreements and project labor agreements 28
specific to their needs; 29
(i) Consistent with RCW 28C.18.210 and 28C.18.212, the department 30
is a partner with the workforce training and education coordinating 31
board and the state workforce system to evaluate the workforce impact 32
of Washington's climate policies and support the expansion and 33
development of high paying, quality clean energy career pathways and 34
wraparound support services, especially for overburdened communities 35
and vulnerable populations. The office may serve as a convener 36
between clean energy project owners and the state workforce system in 37
communities where projects are sited to support clean energy 38
workforce development; 39
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(j) Support deployment of agrivoltaic and dual-use solar and 1
other clean energy technologies through investments in research and 2
development, pilot projects, and integration into local planning and 3
zoning. The office may provide technical assistance, information, and 4
funding to support colocating solar photovoltaics and other clean 5
energy technologies with agricultural operations and, where 6
appropriate, locating photovoltaics over water bodies. The office may 7
support pilot projects and research and development of dual-use 8
applications, and may help identify applications, approaches, and 9
designs that can benefit from colocation; 10
(k) Assess the efficiency and effectiveness of state and local 11
tax provisions relating to development and operation of clean energy 12
projects; 13
(l) Support electrical transmission planning and development 14
including, but not limited to: 15
(i) Coordinating with other agencies and jurisdictions to plan 16
and develop in-state and interstate electrical transmission and other 17
linear clean energy corridors; 18
(ii) Identifying electrical transmission capacity constraints, 19
barriers to electricity grid interconnection, and options to 20
ameliorate constraints and barriers; 21
(iii) Identifying opportunities to develop additional 22
transmission corridors, if needed, and upgrade existing transmission 23
facilities to ameliorate transmission capacity constraints; and24
(iv) Providing information on grid enhancing technologies and 25
other options for improving electrical transmission capacity and 26
resilience and identify opportunities to accelerate deployment of 27
these approaches; 28
(m) Support planning and development of clean energy linear 29
transmission corridors including, but not limited to, hydrogen 30
pipelines; and 31
(n) Conduct or participate in such other initiatives, studies, or 32
investigations as may be directed by the legislature, the governor, 33
or the director. 34
(2) The definitions in section 2 of this act apply throughout 35
this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.36
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) Subject to the availability of amounts 37
appropriated for this specific purpose, the office shall:38
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(a) Identify best practices for siting and permitting large-scale 1
battery energy storage systems. The office shall convene a work group 2
to identify best practice policy language and develop other tools at 3
the statewide level to support local governments and state regulatory 4
authorities. Work group members may include, but are not limited to, 5
tribal representatives, city and county representatives, battery 6
energy storage developers and experts, state regulatory authorities, 7
environmental justice interests, and other relevant stakeholders with 8
expertise on the topic. The work group shall address the range of 9
issues and concerns related to battery energy storage, including 10
safety, emergency response, zoning, siting, and permitting. The work 11
group shall incorporate information from nonproject environmental 12
impact statements addressing colocated battery energy storage. The 13
work group shall develop a menu of options or templates for policies 14
and regulations related to battery energy storage facilities that 15
local jurisdictions can tailor to their needs. The office shall 16
submit a report to the governor and legislature summarizing the 17
findings and recommendations by July 1, 2026; 18
(b) By July 1, 2026, submit a report to the legislature and the 19
governor that assesses the feasibility and potential benefits of a 20
build-ready clean energy program to accelerate the use of 21
underutilized locations for clean energy projects. The report must 22
include a program design proposal, if recommended.23
(2) The definitions in section 2 of this act apply throughout 24
this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.25
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The department may adopt rules necessary 26
to carry out the purposes and provisions of this act.27
Sec. 7. RCW 43.330.120 and 1993 c 280 s 15 are each amended to 28
read as follows: 29
(1) The department shall serve as the central coordinator for 30
state government in the implementation of the growth management act, 31
chapter 36.70A RCW. The department shall work closely with all 32
Washington communities planning for future growth and responding to 33
the pressures of urban sprawl. The department shall ensure 34
coordinated implementation of the growth management act by state 35
agencies. 36
(2) The department shall offer technical and financial assistance 37
to cities and counties planning under the growth management act. The 38
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department shall help local officials interpret and implement the 1
different requirements of the act through workshops, model 2
ordinances, and information materials. 3
(3) The department shall provide alternative dispute resolution 4
to jurisdictions and organizations to mediate disputes and to 5
facilitate consistent implementation of the growth management act. 6
The department shall review local governments compliance with the 7
requirements of the growth management act and make recommendations to 8
the governor. 9
(4) The department shall support local governments to integrate 10
clean energy development, including agrivoltaics and dual-use solar 11
and other clean energy technologies, into planning and zoning 12
requirements. The department shall provide technical assistance and 13
ongoing liaison support to local governments, including methods and 14
best practices for siting clean energy projects and transmission 15
facilities, and for colocation of energy facilities with agricultural 16
operations, environmental conservation, and other uses.17
(5) The department shall provide alternative dispute resolution 18
services including, but not limited to, mediation services, to help 19
resolve disputes between any combination of local governments, 20
tribes, and project applicants attempting to site clean energy 21
projects or electrical transmission facilities. Alternative dispute 22
resolution processes involving tribes may require unique provisions, 23
including for confidentiality of tribal information.24
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. Sections 2 through 6 of this act are each 25
added to chapter 43.330 RCW. 26
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. If any provision of this act or its 27
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the 28
remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other 29
persons or circumstances is not affected.30
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