Washington State Passes Legislation to Use 100 Percent Renewable Energy by 2045

As Washington Governor Jay Inslee gears up for his 2020 Presidential bid, his office recently announced that a new piece of legislation on the governor’s desk for signature mandating that Washington state will run on 100 percent clean energy by 2045.

Washington is the latest in a slew of states to seek adoption of clean energy legislation. California and Hawaii have already passed legislation mandating clean energy, with New Mexico, Maryland, Illinois and now Washington looking to closely follow suit.

Inslee’s new bill, SB 5116: Supporting Washington’s Clean Energy Economy and Transitioning to a Clean, Affordable, and Reliable Energy Future, sets several goals for transitioning the state over to clean energy. By 2025, the state must do away with coal power completely. By 2030, Washington state must be 100 percent carbon neutral, with at least 80 percent of the state’s power coming from “nonemitting electric generation and electricity from renewable resources.” The remaining 20 percent of electricity can be sourced from one of three ways: (1) renewable energy credits; (2) an “alternative compliance payment”; or (3) energy transformation projects.

In a recent statement regarding the legislation, Inslee called it “the country’s most forward-looking clean energy bill. He further noted that “this bill will fundamentally transform Washington’s energy future.”