The 2019 State Legislature passed 2 new laws related to Solar. The bills promoted renewables in Washington State and sought to create greater confidence in interactions between multiple entities. Adopting solar now has its advantages, however if you must wait, a new Sales tax exemption will sweeten a solar contract drafted in 45 days or so.
The Solar Fairness Act pertains principally to Net Metering. Get credit for all the electricity you generate. Some utilities in our state had exceeded the legal threshold and therefore were under no obligation to grant credits to new participants . Now we can all interact with greater confidence. The existing state law threshold was very low. This new legislation raised it from .5% to 4% (or June 30, 2029 – whichever comes first). Here is the Solar Installer of WA’s bill digest. Way to go solar citizen lobbyists!
100% Clean Electricity Act. This ambitious 100% clean electricity mandate is a source of celebration for Governor Inslee and progressives. The framework propels a grid that uses clean renewable power. Within this law we have now established a Sales Tax exemption and a Remittance structure for various sizes of installations. See the savings on your solar contracts and invoices for the next decade. (Project must be completed by Dec. 31, 2029)
- Pay No Sales Tax: Solar electric systems ≤ 100kW installed after July 1, 2019. An overwhelming majority of solar projects are in this category.
- Partial Remittance: Solar systems over 100kW installed after Jan. 1, 2020.
Please refer to this Solar Installer of WA recap for more details on these new laws.
Solar at work!