WASHINGTON SOLAR ENERGY INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION

FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE POLICY. IN 2022, WASEIA FACILITATED MEETINGS WITH THE STAFF OF SIX CONGRESSIONAL MEMBERS OF THE WASHINGTON STATE DELEGATION TO ENGAGE WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE ON REJECTING THE AUXIN SOLAR TARIFF CIRCUMVENTION FEDERAL INVESTIGATION. THE THREAT OF THESE RETROACTIVE TARIFFS CAUSED A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF MANUFACTURERS TO WITHDRAW THEIR SOLAR PANELS FROM THE U.S. SUPPLY CHAIN, CAUSING INDUSTRY-WIDE MATERIAL SHORTAGES AND STEEP PRICE INCREASES. THANKS TO THE EFFORTS OF COMPANIES AND ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING THOSE OF WASEIA AND ITS MEMBERS, PRESIDENT BIDEN DECLARED A TWO-YEAR MORATORIUM ON NEW SOLAR TARIFFS AND ENDED THE POTENTIAL RETROACTIVE NATURE OF THE TARIFFS, THEREBY HELPING TO STABILIZE THE SUPPLY CHAIN AND MINIMIZE FURTHER DISRUPTIONS TO PLANNED SOLAR PROJECTS. ALSO IN 2022, WASEIA SHARED INFORMATION WITH ITS MEMBERS ABOUT THE VARIOUS BENEFITS AND IMPACTS THAT THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT (IRA) WOULD HAVE ON THEIR BUSINESSES. WASEIA DISTRIBUTED EARLY WHITE HOUSE GUIDANCE ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE IRA TO ITS MEMBERS AND MONITORED THE IRS RULEMAKING PROCESS CONCERNING THE TAX CREDIT PROVISIONS THAT COULD AFFECT ITS MEMBERS.

STATE LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY AFFAIRS. IN 2022, WASEIA LED A BROAD-BASED STAKEHOLDER GROUP TO BRAINSTORM AND DRAFT LEGISLATION THAT WOULD EXTEND WASHINGTON'S NET METERING (NEM) PROGRAM THROUGHOUT THE STATE. THE PROPOSED BILL WOULD HAVE INCREASED EXISTING NET-METERING THRESHOLDS WHILE ESTABLISHING A WORK GROUP TO STUDY LONGER-TERM REPLACEMENT OPTIONS FOR RETAIL NET METERING, THEREBY CONTINUING TO FOSTER GROWTH OF THE INDUSTRY IN THE STATE. WASEIA ALSO ASSISTED IN LEADING EFFORTS TO IMPROVE AND EXPAND WASHINGTON'S COMMUNITY SOLAR REGULATION. AMONG ITS VARIOUS PROPOSALS, WASEIA HELPED TO DRAFT LEGISLATION THAT WOULD GIVE DIRECT BILL CREDITS TO COMMUNITY SOLAR SUBSCRIBERS, WHICH WOULD HAVE SPURRED A PIPELINE OF NEW PROJECT DEVELOPMENT AND PAVE THE WAY TOWARD MORE EQUITABLE AND ACCESSIBLE TRANSITIONS TO CLEAN ENERGY. IN ADDITION TO THE ABOVE, WASEIA MONITORED AND SPOKE OUT AGAINST EFFORTS THAT WOULD DELAY IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2021 STATE ENERGY CODE AND/OR WEAKEN PROVISIONS DESIGNED TO HELP RETIRE FOSSIL GAS SPACE HEATING.