Last week on March 26th, the Washington State House Environment and Energy Committee voted in support of the Solar Fairness Act (E2SSB 5223). The bill has since moved to the House Rules Committee to be scheduled for a full vote on the House floor in the coming weeks. It passed out of the Senate last month with bipartisan support and is maintaining good momentum on the House side. Once it receives a vote on the House floor, it will head back to the Senate for “concurrence” if it passes off the House floor with a majority.
The Solar Fairness Act provides a simple administrative update to a proven policy at no cost to the state. Net metering protects solar owners’ right to use the electricity they make over the course of the year. Updating the law to allow more Washingtonians access to solar is vital to achieving our state’s renewable energy goals. Net metering also supports thousands of clean energy jobs and has helped leveraged more than $1.27 billion in private investment in Washington according to Western Washington University’s Center of Economic and Business Research.
