wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > SB 5546 > Original Bill
The legislature finds that expanding the use of solar energy is an effective means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the state's reliance on the fossil fuels responsible for our rapidly changing climate. The legislature further finds that the use of solar energy to power buildings is generally a cost-effective means of reducing energy bills with a return on investment that may equal or exceed the initial cost. The legislature also notes that the state's building code requires solar readiness for many buildings and that the state's energy performance standard, commonly known as the clean buildings act, is transitioning the state toward ever more energy efficient buildings. Considering these benefits and existing state requirements, the legislature intends to create a requirement, subject to sufficient legislative appropriations, that public schools install solar energy systems on new buildings that exceed 50,000 square feet.
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A public school that plans to commence construction of a qualifying school building on or after June 1, 2028, shall notify the office of the superintendent of public instruction prior to the commencement of construction in order to address the feasibility of installing a qualifying solar energy system.
A public school that plans to commence construction of a qualifying school building on or after June 1, 2025, but prior to June 1, 2028, may provide notice to the superintendent of public instruction pursuant to subsection (2) of this section for the purpose of seeking a grant award under section 3 of this act.
The notification required by subsection (1) of this section must be provided within the time frame established by the superintendent of public instruction and must include:
The estimated cost of permitting, purchasing, and installing a qualifying solar energy system for the planned building; and
A comparison of the proposed qualifying solar energy system's capacity to the school campus' anticipated electrical energy consumption. In addition to existing electrical energy consumption, the comparison must include the electrical energy consumption from planned capital investments included in the school's 10-year capital plans as well as from anticipated improvements required to comply with the state's energy-related building standards in this chapter.
To facilitate submission of the project notification required under this section and to assess the public benefit potential of each project, the superintendent of public instruction must:
Provide technical assistance to public schools for estimating costs and project scope;
Perform a cost-benefit analysis for each project that compares the state's investment to the value produced by the project over a period of at least 25 years, including an estimate of whether the project would result in a positive net present value over the period of analysis.
For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:
"Commencement of construction" means the date that a building permit is issued under the building code adopted under RCW 19.27.031 for construction of the school building.
"Qualifying school building" means a building owned by a public school that is required to provide solar zones pursuant to the building code adopted under RCW 19.27.031 and is more than 50,000 gross square feet.
"Qualifying solar energy systems" means photovoltaic panels of a design, capacity, and quantity sufficient to maximize buildings' or sites' solar energy generation potential, but not to exceed school campus' anticipated electrical energy consumption.
The office of the superintendent of public instruction must develop a grant program to reimburse public schools for the cost of installing qualifying solar energy systems.
Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the superintendent of public instruction shall award grants on a reimbursement basis for the actual cost of installing qualifying solar energy systems. The superintendent of public instruction may only award grants for projects that would result in a positive net present value over the period of analysis.
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Public schools that receive notification of a grant award within the timeline established by the superintendent of public instruction, and that commence construction on or after June 1, 2028, must install qualifying solar energy systems prior to building occupancy.
Public schools that receive notification of a grant award, and that commence construction prior to June 1, 2028, may install qualifying solar energy systems after building occupancy at the discretion of the superintendent of public instruction.
Public schools must notify the office of the superintendent of public instruction in accordance with section 2 of this act to be eligible to receive funding.
No later than September 30, 2026, and thereafter prior to September 30th of each fiscal biennium, the superintendent of public instruction shall request legislative appropriations in an amount sufficient to fund the estimated cost of eligible grant awards.
For purposes of this section, "qualifying solar energy systems" has the same meaning as in section 2 of this act.
This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect July 1, 2025.