[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6119013,"mediaKeyId","2715224-1e3037372364fdf394a1c3f01d959203","parentId",2715224,"title","Committee weighs SB 5445 to steer utilities toward local distributed energy projects","audioSeconds",3469,"startMs",2480,"endMs",3472275,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2715224-1e3037372364fdf394a1c3f01d959203&start=2&end=3472","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2715224-1e3037372364fdf394a1c3f01d959203/thumbnail_2480.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6119013/Washington/Committee-weighs-SB-5445-to-steer-utilities-toward-local-distributed-energy-projects","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6119013-3a359a3566cff207feb266e74218043f/orig.mp4?Expires=1770651914&Signature=jSiO5uxlY9oNilxv0uruEMzN64rQyyIlDELNS5kuRkFZjaVIqxPHGW7zTzwFILSCH3zeLYsKguPCpqKMy8qx2hxV3C9hYoDqy932bW3Ve7oC2wrHuVLKcoEzOp55cjnrATc87XrhPzFbCKTCzPqdu5RqfmWDcQ0sDkXsRKH6CfVqcT4kwdM8DnxQ6JM5QHIvI7CxwrsCDPSbJ6nK66qaFbhnYH9XWBv2hYDenbzZm0WSUBYiXDIe40A8f1Wb7KLqYZ3m~VytiF~VwtyKvHII05vW8Cn0ULmHTBVnuJ8JJi9bidKsPM64n1uSIvbRTc1wXDb5ZRmV23rWaHhgofG3dw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Washington Legislature","date","2025-03-20T00:00:00Z","article","Senate Bill 5445 would add a set of \"distributed energy priorities\" for the state energy office, clarify tax treatment for agrivoltaic projects on farm and agricultural land, create narrow categorical exemptions under the State Environmental Policy Act and allow qualifying utilities new ways to meet the Energy Independence Act's 15% requirement through accelerated conservation and demand response.

Why it matters: The bill is intended to shift some utility compliance spending from out‑of‑state renewable energy credits into local projects that can support grid reliability, local jobs and community resilience as electricity demand grows.

Committee staff Jake Lipson briefed the panel that the bill \"does 4 main things,\" including defining a priority list that covers solar generation, non-utility-scale wind, energy storage and demand response; treating agrivoltaic systems on eligible farmland so they do not trigger back taxes under the Open Space and Land Use Taxation Act; narrowing some categorical exemptions under SEPA; and adding an alternative compliance pathway to the Energy Independence Act for utilities.

Senator Matt Behnke, sponsor of the bills, framed the measure around local control and grid reliability, saying the state faces rapid projected demand increases and must give utilities \"flexibility as we transition\" to clean energy. Behnke cited the need for local metrics and annual reporting to assess projects’ effectiveness.

Utility and developer representatives from public utility districts (PUDs), cooperatives and private firms told the committee the bill would incentivize investment in local projects rather than buying RECs from outside the state. Liz Anderson, executive director of the Washington PUD Association, said the bill’s alternative compliance option would let utilities keep investment and jobs \"at home\" rather than spending millions on out‑of‑state renewable energy credits. Sheila Korsen of Mason County PUD No. 3 described potential projects—additional rooftop solar, batteries and community solar enrollment on a PUD operations building—that could fit the bill’s priorities. Ryan Collins of Snohomish PUD said the change would convert capacity resources into units compatible with the state’s clean energy framework and help close a gap in the current regulatory system. Joel Hansen of Ameresco said building assets \"creates jobs in our communities\" in a way that buying RECs does not.

Environmental and consumer advocates said they support parts of the bill but urged technical fixes. Charlie Thompson of the Northwest Energy Coalition said the striking amendment raises a valuation question: \"the language in section 6 4 little 3 I allows utilities to claim up to as many as 30 years of credit for conservation savings in a single year,\" which the coalition viewed as inconsistent with regional best practices. Thompson also said the coalition was wary of adding biomass and geothermal to the distributed energy definition without further discussion.

Key provisions and clarifications discussed in committee testimony and the striking amendment:
- Agrivoltaics: The bill treats agrivoltaic facilities (solar plus concurrent agricultural production) so they remain eligible for current‑use valuation under the Open Space and Land Use Taxation Act and do not trigger back taxes; that provision mirrors an earlier House bill discussed by the committee. This tax treatment was not changed in the striking amendment.
- SEPA categorical exemptions: The bill creates categorical SEPA exemptions for certain solar projects—parking lots, rooftop structures of 1,000 square feet or less, and reclaimed surface mines or landfills that are served by and accessible to emergency fire response—unless the parcel is partly or wholly covered by water. The striking amendment narrowed that exemption to undisturbed or previously developed lands that are not timberland, farm and agricultural land or other open space lands eligible under the Open Space and Land Use Taxation Act; it also limits exemptions so only one such structure can exist on a parcel without triggering SEPA review.
- Energy Independence Act (EIA) compliance: The bill would allow qualifying utilities to satisfy their statutory 15% target through a combination of eligible renewable resources and distributed energy priority projects, adding accelerated conservation and demand response as explicit mechanisms. Under the striking amendment, accelerated conservation and demand response are clarified as the only two new mechanisms a utility may use. For distributed energy projects sited within a utility’s service area and meeting other criteria, the amendment applies a higher multiplier for credit toward the EIA target: a four-times (4x) multiplier through 2029 for specified distributed projects (the prior version used a double multiplier for smaller projects up to 5 megawatts).

What the committee did: No final vote was taken. Committee members heard testimony from sponsors, PUDs, developers and environmental groups, asked questions about how the EIA targets are calculated and how credits would be valued, and suspended the hearing to consider the bill further.

Context and next steps: Supporters argue the bill will direct compliance spending into local infrastructure and resilience projects, while critics want clearer and more conservative valuation methods for conservation credits and caution about expanding the definition of distributed energy without guardrails. The committee did not adopt final changes in the hearing; further technical work and stakeholder negotiations were discussed.

Ending: The committee paused consideration of SB 5445 for additional work on the striking amendment and valuation methodologies and did not take final action during the March 20 hearing.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Environment & Energy - 3/20/2025","oneSentenceSummary","Senate Bill 5445 would add a set of distributed energy priorities for the state energy office, clarify agrivoltaics tax treatment, narrow some SEPA exemptions and create an alternative compliance pathway under the Energy Independence Act that counts accelerated conservation and demand response.","taxTitle","Environment & Energy, House of Representatives, Legislative Sessions, Washington","taxId",20260,"location","Washington","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6119004,"Panel backs delay and advisory process for photovoltaic recycling rule to avoid market disruption",916,3452275,4368531,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2715224-1e3037372364fdf394a1c3f01d959203&start=3452&end=4368","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2715224-1e3037372364fdf394a1c3f01d959203/thumbnail_3452275.jpg","/articles/6119004/Washington/Panel-backs-delay-and-advisory-process-for-photovoltaic-recycling-rule-to-avoid-market-disruption","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6119004-68aef987c16cea47383541ecd26bc9fe/orig.mp4?Expires=1770651914&Signature=XPLM6h1jbDB0ByIQAPkGI0XEUu0fy1zKp8Hvivcl36jReaVkkvWk~V1kBLqhfczzaKyTObl~Po~2fErX0onBcJz6m1XJ9ZvQs7BuMYTRU5w60jx8z4G~TRFf3hHzHytqLOxdBrAuBwaCzU2indILOECZBxfMtsxq4YeoMRa521mUUmbuIP2emD48UpAzlhEv-rooxQWzGBVRlYGG1Awg5HcGuseU-3rg9v~q85Nl-KE3UeU1wIGvcYUMMamXPtZPKU3LHAt~LtbTXJZZm-RGgN1ohYcvC9KTLJIK2ati~JpqMfcfN2wQYjtjoqwWcW1yMpj62PZKfH-AkAseekFfOw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 5175, which would delay enforcement deadlines in the state photovoltaic (PV) module stewardship law, create a stakeholder advisory committee and direct the Department of Ecology to contract a consultant and report back with recommendations in 2028.

Why it matters: Current law requires manufacturers of PV modules to submit stewardship plans and prohibits sales of modules in Washington unless the manufacturer has an approved plan. Department of Ecology and industry witnesses said most manufacturers have not submitted approved plans; without an extension the state risked a sudden loss of panel supply and higher costs that could disrupt projects, including federally funded programs.

Department of Ecology solid waste program manager Peter Lyon told the committee the existing timetable—plans due to Ecology and a sales prohibition effective July 1, 2025—would likely force many manufacturers to stop selling into Washington because market shares are small for some suppliers. Lyon said only one manufacturer was expected to have an approved plan under the current schedule and that immediate enforcement would disrupt installers and supply chains. The bill delays those deadlines and directs Ecology to form an advisory committee to resolve implementation issues and support a durable stewardship program.

Nora Hawkins of the Department of Commerce said the extension would protect critical solar projects and federal grants, citing Commerce’s $156 million federal \"Solar for All\" grant and state modeling estimating that Washington will need substantially more distributed and utility‑scale solar to meet future electricity needs. Bill Will of the Washington Solar Energy Industries Association said a prior stakeholder process that began in 2020 was interrupted by the pandemic and that Ecology and industry need more time to finalize a workable stewardship plan.

Industry witnesses described informal recycling practices among installers and said most installers are already trying to avoid landfilling decommissioned panels. Ecology and industry representatives identified data shortfalls as a barrier: Ecology does not have a definitive market‑share list or a reliable count of panels sold in the state because installers and permitting authorities do not report brand‑level sales consistently.

What the committee did: Committee staff and agency witnesses described the extension and advisory committee structure in the engrossed second substitute language; no formal vote was taken. Witnesses asked for a stakeholder process to fill data gaps and to craft a stewardship program that does not interrupt deployment of panels needed for state and federal programs.

Ending: The hearing closed with agreement to pursue the advisory committee and further stakeholder work; the committee did not take final action on SB 5175 during the March 20 hearing.

","Senate Bill 5175 would delay enforcement of the state’s photovoltaic module stewardship rules, establish an advisory committee and require Ecology to contract a consultant and produce implementation recommendations to the Legislature in 2028.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6119009,"Committee hears bill to make state greenhouse‑gas inventory annual, not biennial",1397,848875,2246670,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2715224-1e3037372364fdf394a1c3f01d959203&start=848&end=2246","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2715224-1e3037372364fdf394a1c3f01d959203/thumbnail_848875.jpg","/articles/6119009/Washington/Committee-hears-bill-to-make-state-greenhousegas-inventory-annual-not-biennial","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6119009-6a59939e32c998f7a244d34ce9f80475/orig.mp4?Expires=1770651914&Signature=Xgl4MG-uhzs2ukxdQ-4jYWLPjSo6UavCMXEuZepSHDmmD6YZTOfzrBuPq8MPaR1ehnZ4j~60p3hn6W-b-wuEydsrQ0beZNqS61NZnb~yjr5k6MWBKu1IHkvlBbNUfelSQshanQBIEjcPBGcWxxt19B1tX-JWJjNpF9GkpO2CV8XsZTn1QrbvSJ3bytxjmf99FhKh6Os5tCZrrF2atXBQYuvriuYp6mF6ZGBsGnsBw5fwy1KtNRyyIBFKKFRR4hwzHUGiDL2ch~kdatCCrAXbvyZtmgbkMYdsgGYxuIncvEnHlibawKn727SfQfC0cz2xqLxgEw1U4ZZPzp749o57cw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","A bill to require the Department of Ecology to publish Washington’s greenhouse‑gas inventory annually rather than every two years was presented to the Environment & Energy committee, with proponents saying more frequent data is essential for timely policy decisions and agency staff saying implementing annual publication is feasible with existing plans and additional staff support.

Why it matters: Policymakers, utilities and stakeholders use the inventory to evaluate progress toward statutory emission limits and programs including the Climate Commitment Act; testimony at the hearing said current data lags (Ecology has most recently published through 2021) make it harder to assess which policies are working.

Senate Bill 5036 would change an existing statutory requirement for biannual reporting (on even‑numbered years) so the Department of Ecology issues the greenhouse‑gas inventory each year by Dec. 31 and would add language stating that tracking and reporting are part of policy leadership and accountability under the state emissions limits law.

Sponsor State Senator Matt Behnke said the bill was \"an easy, simple bill\" intended to deliver \"good timely data equals good decisions.\" He said Ecology’s current published dataset lag—examples cited by witnesses showed the 2021 update released in 2025—limits lawmakers’ ability to evaluate the effectiveness of large programs and budget decisions.

Multiple witnesses supported the measure. Dakota Manley, representing the Washington State Young Republicans, said annual reporting would provide more responsive and actionable data for businesses. Todd Myers of the Washington Policy Center urged timely datasets and said the current lag reduces the data’s usefulness for near‑term policy choices. Kira Domer, a Lake Washington High School senior, said annual publication would improve transparency and accountability and help track programs such as the Climate Commitment Act and the Clean Fuel Standard.

Joel Creswell, program manager for the Climate Pollution Reduction Program at the Department of Ecology, provided technical and implementation feedback and told the committee Ecology does not anticipate insurmountable barriers to annual reporting. Creswell said many regulated entities already submit annual reports and that the agency combines those with EPA datasets to produce the statewide inventory. He noted that some sectors already have shorter lags—the electricity sector relies on fuel‑mix datasets from the Department of Commerce that allow electricity emissions to be reported with a two‑year lag—and that the legislature provided funding in 2023 to expand Ecology’s inventory team and tools to reduce overall lag.

Committee members asked how Ecology would obtain corporate and facility data, how the agency would safeguard against misinterpreted or premature figures, and whether additional safeguards are needed to ensure accuracy. Creswell said the data sources the agency uses are routinely reported and that EPA publishes datasets annually; Ecology’s fiscal note reflects staff and implementation costs for annual reports. He added that while the inventory is inherently retrospective, the agency plans to reduce lag over time and already produces less‑lagged electricity‑sector figures.

What the committee did: The bill was heard; no final vote was taken. Supporters urged passage to improve decision‑making; Ecology indicated annual publication is feasible but that reducing lag across all sectors is a multi‑year effort.

Ending: The hearing closed with no action taken; staff and stakeholders will continue technical discussions about implementation and fiscal impacts.

","Senate Bill 5036 would require the Department of Ecology to publish the statewide greenhouse‑gas inventory annually by Dec. 31 rather than every two years.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee weighs SB 5445 to steer utilities toward local distributed energy projects

Panel backs delay and advisory process for photovoltaic recycling rule to avoid market disruption

Committee hears bill to make state greenhouse‑gas inventory annual, not biennial