Legislation to encourage renewable energy use and rural development becomes law

OLYMPIA – Gov. Jay Inslee today signed legislation encouraging the production of renewable energy at older, fire-generated biomass facilities.

Senate Bill 5128, sponsored by Sen. Dean Takko, D-Longview, will allow qualified mills to sell excess power generated by the burning of biomass, such as the fiber remains from timber or pulp, to local public utilities districts. The new law will help older facilities lower power costs by using renewable energy sources.

“Allowing paper mills like Longview’s KapStone, which employs 1,100 people, to sell off excess power will help keep jobs in our rural communities,” said Takko.

The law also creates a provision that power generated by biomass and purchased by local utilities districts qualify as renewable energy called for in Washington’s Energy Independence Act. Expanding the act to include biomass as eligible renewable energy in this way will encourage other facilities to make capital investments to retrofit older facilities.

The bill passed unanimously in the Senate and by a wide margin in the House of Representatives.