"NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that: (a) Wind energy is an abundant, renewable, and nonpolluting energy resource; (b) when converted to electricity, wind energy reduces dependence on nonrenewable energy resources and reduces air and water pollution that result from conventional sources; (c) distributed small wind energy systems also enhance the reliability and power quality of the power grid, reduce peak power demands, increase in-state electricity generation, diversify the state's energy supply portfolio, and make the electricity supply market more competitive by promoting consumer choice; (d) small wind energy systems, designed for on-site home, farm, and small commercial use, are an excellent technology to help achieve the goals of increased in-state electricity generation, reduced demand on the state electric grid, increased consumer energy independence, and nonpolluting electricity generation; and (e) implementation of local standards to achieve the timely and cost-effective installation of small wind energy systems is a matter of statewide concern.
     (2) It is the intent of the legislature to reduce a known barrier to small wind energy generation systems, namely, that many local government jurisdictions have either an outdated permitting process or code, or no permitting process or code for the safest permitting standards for small wind energy systems.
     (3) It is the intent of the legislature that this act apply to all local agencies.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   The definitions in this section apply throughout this act unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Local agency" means any county, city, town, or local entity in the state of Washington with authority to enact construction or building ordinances or otherwise conduct construction or building permitting or zoning.
     (2) "Meteorological tower" is defined to include the tower, base plate, anchors, guy cables and hardware, anemometers (wind speed indicators), wind direction vanes, booms to hold equipment anemometers and vanes, data logger, instrument wiring, and any telemetry devices that are used to monitor or transmit wind speed and wind flow characteristics over a period of time for either instantaneous wind information or to characterize the wind resource at a given location.
     (3) "Small wind energy system" means a wind energy system that:
     (a) Is used to generate electricity;
     (b) Has a nameplate capacity of one hundred kilowatts or less; and
     (c) Has a total height of one hundred seventy feet or less.
     (4) "Total height" means the vertical distance from ground level to the tip of a wind generator blade when the tip is at its highest point.
     (5) "Tower" means the monopole, freestanding, or guyed structure that supports a wind generator.
     (6) "Wind energy system" means equipment that converts and then stores or transfers energy from the wind into usage forms of energy. This equipment includes any base, blade, foundation, generator, nacelle, rotor, tower, transformer, vane, wire, inverter, batteries, or other component used in the system.
     (7) "Wind generator" means blades and associated mechanical and electrical conversion components mounted on top of the tower.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   The department of community, trade, and economic development shall prepare a report that compiles the installation and siting ordinances and permitting requirements of local agencies regarding small wind energy systems and meteorological towers. The report must include an analysis of the application of these standards to determine whether they provide for timely and appropriate review of such systems and towers that are consistent with the findings of the statewide interest as declared in section 1 of this act. The report must also include the department's recommendations for any further legislative action, if any, to enact an expedited siting and permitting system to preempt local regulation in cases where local governments are unnecessarily impeding the installation of small wind energy systems and meteorological towers. The report must be made to the energy and local government standing committees of the senate and house of representatives by December 31, 2010."