OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington state's step toward a clean-energy future in the new year will involve more communities generating their own renewable energy. The Evergreen State is one of four chosen by the National Governors Association to swap policy advice on how to modernize its electric-power sector.

Tony Usibelli, special assistant to the director at the Energy and Climate Policy Division of the Washington State Department of Commerce, said the state has already taken a special interest in something lacking in the Northwest.

"Policies around small, distributed generation," he said. "Things like net metering, where you can sell your electricity back to utilities; things like the deployment of more community solar systems."

The National Governors Association also chose Oregon, Kentucky and Rhode Island to participate in what it calls a "policy academy." Washington plans to focus on reforming market incentives for solar as well. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, the state's solar-energy capacity in 2015 grew by 85 percent over the previous year.

Usibelli noted that Washington already produces and relies on more renewable energy than any other state in the country. Hydropower provides more than half of the state's electricity, but he said the goal is to fill the rest of its needs through other renewable power sources.

"So, our interest is in finding ways that we can help fill in and help develop, particularly through this academy, some of what are becoming much more economically attractive, distributed resources to generate renewables," he explained.

Not everyone sees hydroelectric dams as truly "renewable" power, because of their effects on fish populations and the natural flow of rivers. But the state has ambitious carbon-reduction goals. It plans to reduce carbon emissions to 50-percent below 1990 levels by 2050.


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As Congress prepares to vote this week on a budget bill which would repeal solar energy tax credits, Florida solar advocates warned the move would jeopardize the state's economy.

According to industry data, the tax credits have funded more than $12 billion in clean energy projects and supported 175,000 jobs in Florida.

Caleb Quaid, founder of the Tampa-based environmental consulting firm Regenerative Shift, said his company's landmark solar project relies on the funding.

"This project would not have been possible without these clean energy tax credits," Quaid acknowledged. "They are currently in the process of installing what would be the largest rooftop solar project on a school in Florida history. In addition to providing lower cost of energy for Manatee Schools for the Arts, this project is also paying all of its laborers prevailing wages."

Opponents of the tax credits argue renewable energy should be able to compete without help from the government. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., is facing mounting pressure to defend the solar tax credits because his district hosts many jobs related to clean energy.

Tim McMurray, chief financial officer at the Manatee School for the Arts, argued money saved by solar tax credits is often reinvested into local communities.

"The money saved goes back into the business," McMurray explained. "In our instance, it goes right back to the classrooms. It provides more deeper investments in STEM classes. It provides school counselors and faculty."

Ben Delman, senior director of communications for the advocacy group Solar United Neighbors, said all energy sectors receive some federal backing, so it should not come as a surprise solar energy also needs government support.

"Every source of energy we have is subsidized in some form," Delman pointed out. "What these investments that the tax credits and such, put solar on a level playing field to help families and small businesses save money."

With Florida ranking second nationally in solar installations, advocates said the stakes are high as they urged residents to contact lawmakers ahead of the vote this week.


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Indiana now classifies natural gas and propane as clean energy under a new state law.

Gov. Mike Braun signed Senate Bill 178, granting the fuels eligibility for tax credits and other incentives.

Sam Carpenter, executive director of the nonprofit Hoosier Environmental Council, opposed the measure, arguing the fuels significantly contribute to climate pollution.

"Methane is around 38 times more potent as a greenhouse gas," Carpenter pointed out. "What happens is there's a lot of leakage that happens in the drilling, in the extraction, the storage, the transportation, even the burning of methane."

Proponents of the bill argued it supports an "all of the above" approach to reduce energy costs for Hoosiers.

Carpenter cautioned investing in natural gas infrastructure could backfire. He noted the high costs and slow pace of building pipelines and transmission systems. He also emphasized Indiana's energy landscape is already shifting.

"Ninety percent of new generation coming online is renewable," Carpenter stressed. "It's wind, and it's solar, and it's battery storage, and that's really based on price, and it's based on the competitive factor, and it's based on timeliness."

Carpenter suggested the measure will likely have minimal immediate impact unless federal policies change. The bill passed with bipartisan support in the General Assembly.


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Lawmakers in the U.S. House will vote on a bill this week affecting Virginia's ability to create stronger emissions standards for vehicles and trucks.

The bill targets "California emissions standards," policies which call for 100% of cars sold to be electric or emissions-free by 2035. That policy has been partially or fully adopted by Virginia and 16 other states.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office to repeal the standards, leading to the legislative effort.

Rob Sargent, program director of Coltura, an energy transition nonprofit, said the federal government should be increasing access to electric vehicles instead of going against policies that promote them.

"EV tax credits and any programs designed to make EVs available to the American people are key," he said, "and can unlock decades of savings for people for what has been a strain on their household finances."

A report by the independent Government Accountability Office stated that Congress does not have the authority to repeal the emissions standards. Supporters of the bill have said banning gas cars is an affront to consumer freedom.

More than a half million Virginians are considered "gas super users," meaning they use significantly more gasoline than the average driver.

Sargent said repealing strong emissions standards would make it harder for states to reduce their carbon footprint.

"If Congress acts to pull the rug out from under those states' ability to take action to make cars cleaner in their state," he said, "then it also will undercut the availability of electric vehicles for consumers that would save them money."

The Senate is considering a similar bill despite opposition from within the Legislature.


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