SEATTLE (AP) — Large utilities in Washington state will soon have to get at least part of their power from new renewable sources like wind and solar. But with a voter-mandated 2012 deadline looming, Gov. Chris Gregoire is weighing a package of changes that could expand the definition of what clean energy is.
Initiative 937 requires almost a third of the state’s utilities — those with at least 25,000 customers — to ramp up to getting 15 percent of its power through wind, solar, geothermal and certain woody biomass by 2020.
The governor wants to provide a broader recognition of the state’s clean, electric energy to help attract businesses to the state, as well as make sure the law is working in a cost-effective way, said her policy adviser, Keith Phillips.
Lawmakers, utility officials, environmentalists, business leaders and others are meeting with the governor’s office in Olympia Thursday to discuss potential changes that may be included in legislation next year.
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