BILL REQ. #:  S-3605.2 

Read first time 01/13/2004.   Referred to Committee on Natural Resources, Energy & Water.

     AN ACT Relating to encouraging renewable energy and energy efficiency businesses in Washington; amending RCW 28B.20.285 and 28B.20.287; and adding new sections to chapter 28B.20 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 28B.20 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The legislature finds that Washington state currently derives many benefits from its renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors. These sectors are an important source of employment and income for a significant number of Washington residents, currently generating close to one billion dollars in annual revenue and employing over three thousand eight hundred people. Equally important, energy efficiency and renewable energy businesses add to the region's quality of life by employing technologies that can reduce some of the harmful effects of the reliance on fossil fuels. Washington state possesses all the necessary elements to do much more to develop these sectors and to become a national leader in the research, development, manufacturing, and marketing of clean energy technologies and services. The state's work force is highly educated; the state's higher education institutions are supportive of clean energy research and cooperate closely with the private sector in developing and deploying new energy technologies; there are numerous enterprises already located in the state that are engaged in clean energy research and development; and the state's citizens, utilities, and governmental sectors at all levels are committed to diversifying the state's energy sources and increasing energy efficiency.
     (2) It is therefore declared to be the policy of the state that its public agencies and institutions of higher learning maximize their efforts collectively and cooperatively with the private sector to establish the state as a leader in clean energy research, development, manufacturing, and marketing. To this end, all state agencies are directed to employ their existing authorities and responsibilities to:
     (a) Work with local organizations and energy companies to facilitate the development and implementation of workable renewable energy projects;
     (b) Actively promote policies that support renewable energy development;
     (c) Encourage utilities and customer groups to invest in new renewables; and
     (d) Assist in the development of stronger markets for renewables.
     (3) For the purposes of this section and section 2 of this act and for RCW 28B.20.285 and 28B.20.287, energy efficiency shall include the application of digital technologies to the generation, delivery, and use of power.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 28B.20 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The Washington technology center and the department of community, trade, and economic development shall jointly create the renewable energy business council for the purposes set forth in this section and to further the policies of state leadership in renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies set forth in section 1 of this act. The council shall include individuals from businesses engaged in the renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors, members of the state's higher education institutions associated with assisting research and technology transfer in these sectors, representatives of state and local governments, and individuals representing energy consumer organizations. The council may include members serving on the Washington technology center's board of directors and representatives of the entities participating in the center's northwest energy technology collaborative.
     (2) The purpose of the council shall be to provide a forum for public and private collaborative initiatives to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors in Washington state and the Pacific Northwest. The center and the department shall work with the council to integrate the council's initiatives into existing state programs and initiatives, including the grant programs administered by the center, the department's energy assistance programs, and the center's northwest energy technology collaborative.
     (3) The initial principal activity of the council shall be to develop and implement a strategic plan for public and private sector collaboration in renewable energy and energy efficiency business development. The council, together with the center and department, shall prepare an initial draft of a statewide strategic plan and circulate it widely among businesses and individuals in these sectors for review and comment. The council shall also organize a summit of public and private sector interests to further developments of the proposed strategic plan. The plan shall address primarily the role that public sector policies, programs, and expenditures may play in promoting these economic sectors, including subjects such as work force development, education, tax incentives, economic development assistance, public sector energy purchases, public sector construction standards, transportation, and land use regulation and zoning. The strategic plan shall include recommendations for legislative and administrative policy changes and for legislative appropriations. The plan shall also recommend proposals for capital and operating investments in public higher education facilities, proposals for creating and strengthening public and private partnerships, and proposals for federal financial assistance and expenditures for research and development programs in Washington state. The finalized strategic plan shall be provided to the governor and to the appropriate committees of the senate and house of representatives by January 1, 2005.
     (4) The center's five-year strategic plan required by RCW 28B.20.289(3)(f) that addresses the sectors of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies may be incorporated into the strategic plan required by subsection (3) of this section.

Sec. 3   RCW 28B.20.285 and 2003 c 403 s 10 are each amended to read as follows:
     A Washington technology center is created to be a collaborative effort between the state's universities, private industry, and government. The technology center shall be headquartered at the University of Washington. The mission of the technology center shall be to perform and commercialize research on a statewide basis that benefits the intermediate and long-term economic vitality of the state of Washington, and to develop and strengthen university-industry relationships through the conduct of research that is primarily of interest to Washington-based companies or state economic development programs. The technology center shall:
     (1) Perform and/or facilitate research supportive of state science and technology objectives, particularly as they relate to state industries;
     (2) Provide leading edge collaborative research and technology transfer opportunities primarily to state industries;
     (3) Provide substantial opportunities for training undergraduate and graduate students through direct involvement in research and industry interactions;
     (4) Emphasize and develop nonstate support of the technology center's research activities;
     (5) Administer the investing in innovation grants program;
     (6) Create the renewable energy business council and assist the council in the activities required by section 2 of this act; and
     (((6))) (7) Provide a forum for effective interaction between the state's technology-based industries and its academic research institutions through promotion of faculty collaboration with industry, particularly within the state.

Sec. 4   RCW 28B.20.287 and 1992 c 142 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout RCW 28B.20.285 and 28B.20.289 through 28B.20.295.
     (1) "Technology center" means the Washington technology center, including the affiliated staff, faculty, facilities, and research centers operated by the technology center.
     (2) "Board" means the board of directors of the Washington technology center.
     (3) "High technology" or "technology" includes but is not limited to the modernization, miniaturization, integration, and computerization of electronic, hydraulic, pneumatic, laser, mechanical, robotics, nuclear, chemical, telecommunication, and other technological applications to enhance productivity in areas including but not limited to manufacturing, communications, medicine, bioengineering, renewable energy and energy efficiency, and commerce.
     (4) "Council" means the renewable energy business council authorized by section 2 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   A new section is added to chapter 28B.20 RCW to read as follows:
     For the period between July 1, 2004, and June 30, 2009, the center shall allocate no less than twenty-five percent of the funds available under its research and technology development grants program to applicants developing technologies in renewable energy or energy efficiency. The center may waive this allocation for any federal funds in which such allocation conflicts with conditions of the applicable federal grant. The center may also waive or reduce this allocation if the center determines there are insufficient applications to constitute a viable and competitive pool for projects in this category.