The 2026 renewable energy policy in Washington and across the Pacific Northwest is shaped by a convergence of urgent pressures and long-standing challenges. Chief among them is the impending expiration of key federal clean energy tax credits, prompting a scramble to advance wind and solar projects amid shifting federal signals that have increasingly complicated clean energy development. At the same time, the region is grappling with serious supply concerns driven by soaring data center load, with recent analysis projecting a 9-gigawatt power shortfall in the Pacific Northwest by 2030. The region also faces rising electricity prices and growing threats to grid reliability from wildfire and extreme weather.

These near-term pressures collide with stubborn barriers to the clean energy transition, particularly in renewable generation and transmission planning, financing, siting and permitting, and interagency coordination. Washington’s Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA) commits the state to a carbon-neutral electricity system by 2030 and a carbon-free system by 2045, underscoring the importance of timely renewable development. Policy changes are pending on two fronts this year: Governor Ferguson’s Executive Order 25-11 and a short-session slate of bills aimed at siting, permitting, and transmission.

Executive Action: Governor Ferguson’s Executive Order 25-11

Washington Governor Bob Ferguson issued EO 25-11 (December 16, 2025) to help address these mounting problems facing renewable energy development. EO 25-11 directs the Washington Department of Commerce to create a Joint Clean Energy Acceleration Team focused on identifying and removing barriers that could prevent projects from meeting federal clean energy tax credit timelines. The Team’s first step, publishing a list of utility-scale clean energy projects that have submitted a formal SEPA application and identifying each project’s development status and barriers, provides a clear snapshot of statewide challenges and progress. For example, some of the projects on the list have begun construction, but many remain in environmental review and permitting, or are awaiting key steps like interconnection, which underscores the need for focused coordination to keep projects on schedule.

Next, EO 25-11 makes acceleration of the identified project pipeline a coordinated executive branch priority. It directs seven cabinet agencies to prioritize review of permits, plans, leases, and other approvals. Importantly, this prioritized review also extends to facilities associated with the listed projects, including substations and adjacent transmission or distribution lines needed to bring the projects online.

Finally, EO 25-11 tackles other common project bottlenecks. It directs the Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) to expedite review of utility Requests for Proposals for eligible clean energy resources and grant procedural exemptions when needed. The Department of Commerce is also tasked with speeding up grant awards and contracts for projects facing expiring tax credits, prioritizing those that can start work quickly and targeting siting and permitting efforts that remove structural barriers to new development.

The coming year will show whether these coordinated actions can truly accelerate clean energy development in Washington. If they succeed under the pressure of looming federal tax credit deadlines, the state could apply these strategies to streamline future projects as well.

Legislative Action: What to Anticipate from Washington’s Short Session

As the Legislative Session kicks off in Olympia this year, renewable energy supporters are hoping for some wins this year that keep momentum strong at the state level, even as federal actions have added uncertainty for clean energy development nationwide. The following overview offers a brief look at bills advancing a renewable energy agenda, spotlighting a few key themes and select measures from the dozens of energy-related proposals introduced to date.

Fast-Tracking Siting, Permitting, and Agency Review

Lawmakers are moving quickly to build on the Governor’s push to speed up siting and permitting, rolling out their own bills aimed at accelerating renewable generation and related infrastructure.

A number of bills related to the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) are circulating amid the flurry of early-session introductions. In part, these proposals appear to respond to a 2024 legislature-commissioned evaluation, which found that EFSEC lacks transparent and enforceable timelines, clear statutory standards for project approvals, and sufficient staffing to keep projects moving expeditiously, and that its highly adjudicative process can make project review cumbersome and slow. Together, those issues have contributed to longer, less predictable review processes, which creates uncertainty for developers, communities, and effect the state’s broader clean energy goals.

• HB 1237 would require that EFSEC make timely, predictable recommendations to the Governor to approve siting applications that meet clearly articulated statutory standards, and would establish clearer public hearing requirements for inconsistent land use or zoning issues.
• HB 2509 aims to make EFSEC reviews more efficient by adding experienced Council members for transmission projects, updating review criteria, moving some hearings to a topically limited adjudicative format, streamlining environmental documentation, allowing early site prep for qualifying wind projects, and allowing minor amendments to existing certifications for repowering certain facilities.
• HB 6010 would amend how EFSEC conducts tribal consultation, strengthening Tribes’ voice, influence, and privacy in the siting process, and making it more likely that cultural resources are identified earlier in the process.

One bill taking a more comprehensive approach to siting, permitting, and agency review is HB 1328, which creates a new Clean Energy Development Office within the Department of Commerce to proactively help accelerate the development of clean energy projects and transmission by assembling and sharing information to guide and support siting, conducting planning and development functions, and supporting tribes, communities, and local governments. When the bill was first introduced during the 2025 legislative session, some renewable advocates appreciated its intent but questioned whether the centralized framework would actually speed timelines or simply duplicate existing processes. It will be worth watching how this concept evolves during the 2026 session to address those questions.

Transmission Policy

Several transmission bills are slated for early hearings this session as legislators are increasingly willing to step into a system long dominated by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), prompted by decades of lagging transmission buildouts even as grid needs and electrification demand rise.

SB 5466 takes aim at Washington’s historically reactive role in electric transmission by creating the Washington Electricity Transmission Authority, a centralized body to lead planning, development, siting, and permitting while coordinating with in-state, regional, and interregional partners. Key elements of the bill include:

• A 20-year transmission needs assessment led by the Department of Commerce to identify high-priority corridors that align with forecasted transmission and interconnection needs to achieve CETA targets and that use a lower-conflict siting approach.
• Support for local and tribal permitting efforts, along with exploration of debt-financing tools to accelerate transmission development.
• Streamlined SEPA processes for certain transmission work, including upgrades, reconductoring, or relocations within existing rights-of-way with simple notifications to federally recognized Tribes and the Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation.
• Incentive provisions, including rates of return for grid-enhancing technologies and advanced reconductoring that benefit ratepayers.

If a strong version of SB 5466 passes, it would provide an important new tool in the state’s toolbox for advancing transmission to support clean energy development.

HB 1819 partially mirrors SB 5466’s language related to reconductoring in existing corridors. Both bills include categorical SEPA exemptions for certain transmission line work, such as rebuilding or reconductoring within existing rights-of-way, and both contain incentive provisions aimed at encouraging investment in grid-enhancing technologies and reconductoring. In addition, HB 1819 requires large electric utilities to evaluate where reconductoring transmission lines with advanced conductors could meaningfully improve grid performance in their Clean Energy Action Plans.

Additional Clean Energy Bills

Beyond the bills highlighted here, the 2026 session features a wide array of other energy proposals—from tackling supply challenges and new large-load data center growth (HB 2515, HB 6121) to supporting nuclear energy (SB 5821), creating a new clean energy fund program (SB 5208), and promoting renewables through tax incentives and local investments (HB 1960). All eyes will be on how both legislative and executive follow-through advances renewable energy development this year, supporting projects that will help Washington stay on track to meet its CETA targets for carbon reduction and clean energy deployment, in turbulent times.

This article summarizes aspects of the law and opinions that are solely those of the authors. This article does not constitute legal advice. For legal advice regarding your situation, you should contact an attorney.