(1) The following categories of clean energy facilities and nonproject activities that reduce environmental impacts are determined to constitute distributed energy priorities:

(a) Solar energy generation and accompanying energy storage and electricity transmission and distribution, including vehicle charging equipment, when such facilities are located:

(i) Within the easement, right-of-way, or existing footprint of electrical transmission facilities or electric utility infrastructure sites;

(ii) Within the easement, right-of-way, or existing footprint of a state highway or city or county road;

(iii) On structures over or enclosing irrigation canals, drainage ditches, and irrigation, agricultural, livestock supply, stormwater, or wastewater reservoirs or similar impoundments of state waters that do not host salmon or steelhead trout runs;

(iv) On elevated structures over parking lots;

(v) On lands within a transportation facility, including but not limited to airports and railroad facilities, or restricted from other developments by transportation facility operations;

(vi) On closed or capped portions of landfills;

(vii) On reclaimed or former surface mine lands or contaminated sites that have been remediated under chapter 70A.305 RCW or the federal comprehensive environmental response, compensation, and liability act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 9601 et seq.) in a manner that includes an asphalt or soil cap;

(viii) As an agrivoltaic facility; and

(ix) On existing structures;

(b) Wind energy generation that is not a utility-scale wind energy facility as defined in RCW 70A.550.010, and accompanying energy storage and transmission and distribution equipment, including vehicle charging equipment;

(c) Energy storage, when such facilities are located:

(i) Within the easement, right-of-way, or existing footprint of electrical transmission facilities or electric utility infrastructure sites;

(ii) Within the easement, right-of-way, or existing footprint of a state highway or city or county road;

(iii) On lands within a transportation facility, including but not limited to airports and railroad facilities, or restricted from other developments by transportation facility operations;

(iv) On closed or capped portions of landfills;

(v) On reclaimed or former surface mine lands;

(vi) On contaminated sites that have been remediated under chapter 70A.305 RCW or the federal comprehensive environmental response, compensation, and liability act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 9601 et seq.) in a manner that includes an asphalt or soil cap; and

(vii) On or in existing structures;

(d) Microgrids. For purposes of this section, "microgrids" are a group of interconnected loads, energy generation, and other distributed energy resources that act as a single controllable entity with respect to the electric grid. A microgrid can operate both autonomously from and synchronous with the central electric grid;

(e) Programs that reduce electric demand, manage the level or timing of electricity consumption, or provide electricity storage, renewable or nonemitting electric energy, capacity, or ancillary services to an electric utility and that are located on the distribution system, any subsystem of the distribution system, or behind the customer meter, including conservation and energy efficiency; and

(f) Programs that reduce energy demand, manage the level or timing of energy consumption, or provide thermal energy storage.

(2)(a) The department must review and, when appropriate, periodically recommend to the legislature additional types of distributed energy priorities for inclusion on the list under subsection (1) of this section.

(b) The identification of distributed energy priorities in subsection (1) of this section applies to the maximum extent practical under state and federal law, but does not include any development sites or activities prohibited under other state or federal laws.

(3)(a) For purposes of this section, "agrivoltaic facility" means a ground-mounted photovoltaic solar energy system that is designed to be operated coincident with continued productive agricultural use of the land.

(b) Eligible agricultural products and uses include any combination of:

(i) Crop production;

(ii) Grazing;

(iii) Animal husbandry; and

(iv) Apiaries with pollinator habitat that have been designed and installed to enable the agricultural producer the flexibility to change what products are produced, raised, or grown at any point throughout the life of the facility.

(c) An agrivoltaic facility must not permanently or significantly degrade the agricultural or ecological productivity of the land after the cessation of the operation of the facility or involve the sale of a water right associated with the land.

(d) An agrivoltaic facility must be constructed, installed, and operated to achieve integrated and simultaneous production of both solar energy and marketable agricultural products by an agricultural producer:

(i) On land beneath or between rows of solar panels, or both; and

(ii) As soon as agronomically feasible and optimal for the agricultural producer after the commercial solar operation date, and continuing until facility decommissioning.

(e) Solar panel arrays must be designed and installed in a manner that supports the continuation of a viable farm operation for the life of the array, and must consider, as appropriate, the availability of light, water infrastructure for crops or animals, and panel height and spacing relative to farm machinery needs.

Findings—Intent—2025 c 265: "The legislature finds that, as Washington works towards meeting its goals under the clean energy transformation act, we see many larger-scale renewable energy projects proposed. These projects can come with significant challenges. This act aims to incentivize the development of local distributed energy resources. This may include expediting installation of small-scale wind energy developments, solar energy developments on landfills, structures, and other developed lands, and the placement of solar panels on agricultural lands that ensure the continued viability of agriculture alongside energy production. The legislature also finds that local economies benefit from distributed energy projects, which can create high quality jobs, provide opportunities for training apprentice workers, and improve grid resilience. The legislature intends to support utilities in investing in local distributed energy resilience by providing greater incentives in the energy independence act for utilities who invest in distributed energy priority projects." [ 2025 c 265 s 1.]