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State Law Calling for Full Renewable Electricity is Worthy Goal by Editorial Board Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, May 6, 2019

Don't panic as there is much flexibility in this quest.

Assuming Gov. Jay Inlsee signs the legislation, and it's a safe assumption, a new state law mandates Washington's supply of electricity be generated totally by renewable sources 2045.

While this legislation, Senate Bill 5116, was a source of contentious debate along party lines, the end result likely won't be as wonderful as Democrats contend nor as onerous as Republicans claim.

In reality, going all green in terms of energy production is the wise thing to do. Reducing our dependence on fossil fuels is economically smart in the long run and it is ultimately good for the environment.

Several years ago an initiative was on the ballot that tried to do much the same thing but it was fatally flawed. It did not consider hydropower, which is now the source of at least two-thirds of Washington's power, renewable energy.

That, of course, is nonsense. Yet, the initiative was written by folks who seemingly favored breaching the dams on the Snake and Columbia rivers, so that's the misguided route they took.

Voters rejected it.

This legislation does include hydropower as a source of green energy. So, when hydropower is combined with solar and wind, Washington state is at least 75 percent of the 100 percent goal of renewable powers.

This law means utilities will have to wean themselves off coal by 2025 and be carbon-free by 2045.

This is doable -- and perhaps with not much upheaval.

Most of the hydropower generated in the U.S. comes from water spilled over dams in Washington state. Not all of that hydropower is allocated to utilities in this state. It is sold by the federal Bonneville Power Administration to utilities in Oregon, California and throughout the West.

In reality, that hydropower usage can be increased simply by purchasing more of the electricity generated by the turbines at the dams. It's literally a transaction done with a few computer keystrokes.

Coal-fired power generation, despite much political attention, is already waning. It is making less economic sense.

The market is clearly trending toward going green.

And since the state has 25 years to make the full switch to renewable power, plenty of wiggleroom exists to make this happen relatively smoothly.

If problems arise, the Legislature can make changes to this law. The time to go all green could be extended or the percentage of renewable energy could be lowered.

This flexibility will provide some economic protection from high electricity rates as Washington works toward the goal of eliminating dependence on fossil fuels.