posted on Monday, November 20, 2006 5:31 PM by Gunnar Birgisson

"Other" Washington Approves Renewable Portfolio Standard

While legislators in Washington, D.C. have yet to approve a national renewable portfolio standard (RPS), renewable energy advocates in Washington State prevailed in a ballot initiative that would require the state's larger utilities to procure up to 15% of their energy from renewable resources.

Washington is rich in hydro-resources and through integrated planning, some incremental renewable energy generation has also been built.  Supporters of the ballot initiative sought to set higher and more quantifiable standards, while some utilities raised concerns about costs, particularly if the federal production tax credit expires.  With passage of the initiative, affected utilities will have to procure 3% of their energy from renewables by 2012, 9% by 2015, and 15% by 2020, subject to different standards for utilities without load growth.  Qualifying types of renewable energy includes wind, solar, geothermal, various kinds of biomass, landfill and sewage-treatment gas, wave, ocean, tidal.  Hydropower is excluded, except for utility-owned hydropower efficiency upgrades.  Utilities can acquire the renewable energy from facilities in the Pacific Northwest, from other facilities capable of delivering power to Washington, or through equivalent renewable energy credits.

The initiative also requires utilities to identify and pursue cost-effective conservation measures, which are defined as reductions in power consumption due to increased efficiency in energy use, production, or distribution.