The bill amends Washington state law to allow electricity generated by qualified biomass facilities in the Pacific Northwest to count towards a qualifying utility's renewable resource requirements under the Energy Independence Act. It introduces the definition of "qualified biomass energy," which refers to electricity produced from biomass energy facilities that began operations before March 31, 1999, and are located in the region. The bill clarifies that this electricity must be purchased by a qualifying utility from the facility, which must be owned by either the utility or an industrial facility interconnected with the utility's electricity infrastructure. Additionally, it updates the definition of "qualified biomass energy" to specify that it is now purchased by a qualifying utility, rather than contributing to the utility's load.

The legislation also establishes that utilities can count eligible renewable resources based on the heat value of renewable resources when cofiring with fossil fuels and allows for extra credit for acquiring renewable resources from newer facilities that utilize approved apprenticeship programs during construction. It sets compliance conditions for utilities, stating they may be excused from meeting renewable energy targets due to unforeseen events, and outlines specific conditions for biomass energy compliance. Key changes include stipulations that only utilities directly interconnected to qualified biomass energy facilities can use biomass energy for compliance, and if such a facility ceases operations (except for maintenance), the utility can no longer use its energy credits. The bill mandates that utilities can only transfer renewable energy credits associated with biomass energy to the utility they are interconnected with and sets a timeline for achieving 100% renewable energy usage by 2030, while specifying that voluntary renewable energy purchases will not count towards annual targets.

Statutes affected:
Original Bill: 19.285.030, 19.285.040