Senate Democrats
Clean Energy, Green Jobs
GROWING CLEAN AND GREEN ENERGY JOBS
Goal #1: Making Washington a leader in the clean energy economy
Proposal: Sen. Phil Rockefeller will introduce legislation to:
Convene:
- businesses providing clean energy products and services,
- the technology development sector,
- higher education and workforce training agencies, and
- public sector agencies responsible for energy programs to
- develop a comprehensive strategy for growing the existing clean energy economy in Washington.
The result: The formation of the Clean Energy Collaborative, and a strategy to address all components of a successful economic development plan for the clean energy jobs of tomorrow, including research and development, manufacturing, marketing, demand growth, worker training, and business assistance and incentives.
The details: General fund state, plus federal funds.
Goal #2: Incentivize clean energy production.
Proposal: Sen. Phil Rockefeller has sponsored SB 5185 to:
- Expand the 2005 Renewable Energy Investment Incentives Payment program to include solar, and extend the program to 2025.
- Support community-owned solar projects
Proposal: Sen. Steve Hobbs has sponsored SB 5161 to:
- Renew the sales tax exemption on the equipment and installation of renewable energy to include geothermal and wave and tidal power, and expand it.
Proposal: Sen. Karen Keiser has sponsored SB 5429 to:
- Extend the existing cost recovery program for renewable power from its current expiration date of 2015 to 2025
- Expand the program to provide increased incentives to businesses and industrial plants that produce and use their own energy through solar.
The result: Washington’s existing manufacturing strength can be used to help ensure that we are not just buyers and installers of solar panels, fuel cells, geothermal heat systems, wind turbines and tidal generators, but market leaders in their production as well. Also, the major warehouse and other commercial roofs in areas like Tukwila and Renton can provide a very visible demonstration to the public of the potential for producing solar energy, even in cloudy Western Washington.
The details: The Renewable Energy Investment Incentives Payment is paid for through utility credits against the Public Utility Tax. The impact of the current program is less than $100,000 per year. The sales tax exemption for renewable energy referenced in SB 5161 currently expires in June of this year. This legislation would renew the exemption through 2019 and add wave power and geothermal power.
Since current estimates of the renewal indicated a substantial impact to the General Fund, Senator Hobbs and Senator Rockefeller are working with utilities and renewable power developers to revise the extension to target more of the assistance to fledging green power technologies.
SB 5429 expands the renewable energy investment incentives payment. It provides a higher per-kilwatt-hour payment for solar power produced by commercial and industrial businesses that install solar power for their building's use. It also provides a B&O tax credit for commercial or industrial businesses installing solar power. The bill excludes from property tax valuation any value increases to the property due to the installation of solar energy systems for electric generation or heating and cooling.