SB5168 – Requiring Ecology to provide advisory opinions on whether proposed projects will meet the Clean Energy Transformation Act’s requirements for greenhouse gas neutral electricity. (Dead)
Prime Sponsor – Senator Short (R; 7th District; Northeast WA)
Current status – Had a hearing in the Senate Committee on Environment, Energy and Technology January 27th.
Next step would be – Dead bill.
Legislative tracking page for the bill.

Comments –
As I read the bill, getting an opinion from Commerce advising that a project will comply with the requirements guarantees that it will (assuming it’s built according to the proposal), regardless of what other authorities might have concluded. If a developer hasn’t asked for an opinion, then the other authorities retain their power to make that decision. (I think it implies that one of them might conclude a project did comply, even if Commerce had been asked for an opinion and hadn’t been willing to issue one saying it would.)

Summary –
Between 2030 and 2045, the Clean Energy Transformation Act requires all retail sales of electricity in the state to be “greenhouse gas” neutral. The Act allows utilities to meet this requirement in a number of ways, including supplying power from renewable and non-emitting resources, and investing in energy transformation projects that meet requirements the Act specifies and criteria established by the Department of Ecology. (Starting in 2045, they can only supply retail power from non-emitting and renewable sources.)

The bill requires the Department of Commerce to provide utilities and developers with a legal analysis of a proposed generation or energy transformation project on the basis of an application with information that “accurately describes the proposed project”, and an advisory opinion about whether it would count the Act’s requirements for greenhouse gas neutrality. Commerce is to solicit and consider comments from interested parties in the process; it’s to create rules for the process, and can charge a fee to cover its administrative expenses.

The bill says any project that an advisory opinion states will qualify, and that is built or acquired as proposed, must be considered as complying with those requirements for resources by any agency authorized to enforce them.

It also says that nothing in it preempts the authority of any governing board of a consumer-owned utility, the UTC, or any agency authorized to enforce these requirements from making a determination, independent of this process, on whether a proposed project qualifies to meet the requirements.