Washington clean energy proposal would phase out coal by 2025
Democratic Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday released a new clean energy proposal that would reduce the state's greenhouse gas emissions 25% below 1990 levels by 2035, eliminating over 80 million metric tons of carbon.The package of legislation addresses five policy goals: 100% clean energy by 2045, transitioning to electric transportation, adding a clean fuel standard, constructing energy efficient buildings and eliminating hydrofluorocarbon. The 100% clean energy goal will require completely phasing out coal-fired generation by 2025 and eliminating all fossil fuels by 2045.
The proposed measures come after a carbon tax ballot initiative was rejected by Washington voters for a third time in November. However, Inslee said he is confident these new policies have enough economic benefits to pass through the legislature.
With the Trump Administration exiting the Paris Climate Agreement and rolling back domestic climate regulations, the focus has turned to cities and states to address climate change. Washington state is looking to be a leader of that movement, but the path is not always a direct one."The people decided not to embrace plan A," Inslee conceded, referring to the carbon tax measure at a press conference following the announcement. "But there's about four other plans behind that ready to go. And this plan is ready to go. And it can pass this year."Currently, coal makes up 13.4% of the state's generation and natural gas makes up 10.8%. The majority of the state's electric generation comes from hydroelectric power, which currently makes up 67.7% of its power mix.
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on Dec 24 2018. Filed under Renewable energy.
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