Ask MRSC - Environment

Below is a compilation of several resources regarding funding/financing for renewable energy projects, including examples of renewable energy programs offered by local governments. Local government examples:

• Bainbridge Island Climate Action Plan (2020) – Provides possible funding mechanisms for Green Energy and Building Fund, see Appendix C section 3: Energy (p. 135).
• Bellingham Solar and Renewable Energy – Discusses permitting process, incentives, and rebates. Includes this Department of Revenue tax incentives page link with renewable energy/green incentives. Also see the city’s CAP Implementation Plan (2021), which includes renewable energy action items like working with PSE on a community-wide Green Direct Program, developing a Commerce solar grant, and more. Also see the city’s Climate Work page, which includes key projects. The city previously considered a Climate Action Fund (ballot measure) but has paused this effort.
• Edmonds Rooftop Solar Installations – Streamlined expedited permitted process for rooftop mounted residential solar PV systems. References Department of Energy (DOE) Rooftop Solar Challenge grant program and the city’s status as a Northwest Solar Community.
• Issaquah Solar Panel Permits – Streamlined solar permitting process for residents. Notes that the city received a Gold designation from the national SolSmart program for making it faster, easier, and more affordable for homes and businesses to go solar.
• King County - Cities Climate Collaboration: Climate Action Toolkit – Provides a section on opportunities to secure funding (p.23).
• Kirkland Install Residential Rooftop-Mounted Solar Panels – As part of a DOE grant, Kirkland and its grant partners developed a streamlined process for permitting small-scale rooftop-mounted solar installations for single-family residential customers.
• Mercer Island Solar Power – Discusses Solarize Mercer, a partnership between the city, Spark Northwest, and community volunteers.
• Redmond Environmental Sustainability Plan (2020) – Includes funding sources in “Funding” section (p. 91) of the “Implementation and Evaluation Planning” chapter.
• Snohomish Public Utility District
  • Community Solar at the Arlington Microgrid – Notes that Community Solar participants will receive a check for WA State Renewable Energy System Incentive Program funds.
  • South Everett Solar Project – PUD was awarded a grant under the Washington Clean Energy Fund 3 Low-Income Community Solar Deployment Program.
• Whatcom County C-PACER Program – Describes the county’s C-PACER loan program, which allows owners of eligible commercial properties to seek long-term financing from a private capital provider for qualified improvements related to energy and building resiliency. For more information on the C-PACER program, see our 2022 MRSC blog post, Revisiting C-PACER Two Years Later.

Washington State Department of Commerce resources:

• Clean Energy Fund

Local/regional nonprofits/organizations working in the field of energy transition may be able to provide additional ideas and/or technical assistance. Here are some MRSC is familiar with:

• Clean Energy Transition Institute
• Climate Solutions
• Shift Zero
• Geos Institute
• Spark Northwest
• Washington State University (WSU) Energy Program

MRSC has many resources on Climate Change, with links to our climate-related blog posts, webinars, and webpages, including:

• Climate Action Funding and Technical Resources
• Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategies for Local Governments
• Climate Action Plans
• Local Government Climate Change Documents – Interactive map of climate plans and other climate-related documents. Includes some smaller cities, like Sequim.
• On-Demand Webinars – Includes a link to a recent webinar on climate funding strategies (in the Climate and Sustainability section).

Puget Sound Energy (PSE) green power/solar resources:

• Green Power Solar Grant Program
• Green Power
• Solar Choice
• Storing Your Own Power

Other resources:

• White House: Building a Clean Energy Economy: A Guidebook to the Inflation Reduction Act's Investments in Clean Energy and Climate Action
• C40 Cities: Climate Action and the Inflation Reduction Act: A Guide for Local Government Leaders
• National League of Cities: How Local Governments Can Use Direct Pay on Clean Energy Projects – Includes three local examples from municipal water and power utilities undertaking clean energy projects that are likely eligible to take advantage of the direct pay option.
• US Environmental Protection Agency: Clean Energy Finance Tools and Resources

To our knowledge there is no state legislation related to gas-powered leaf blowers, however a jurisdiction can choose to regulate them locally.

For example, the city of Seattle is phasing out gas blowers – here is a Kiro7 article about it: Seattle City Council approves ban on gas-powered leaf blowers. And here is a link to Seattle’s Resolution No. 32064 (2022), as well as their Supporting Documents. According to this Seattle City Council press release, Washington D.C., the entire state of California, Burlington, Vermont, and 100 other jurisdictions have banned gas leaf blowers.

Another angle is to approach this through the city noise ordinance; Clyde Hill has a specific code provision (see Sec. 8.10.030(G)) that applies to leaf blowers (prohibiting usage of blowers that exceed a 45dBA sound level prior to 7:00 am and after 6:00 pm on weekdays and prior to 10:00 am and 4:00 pm on the weekend and holidays).

And below are some additional examples from both Washington State and elsewhere.

Examples from Washington State:

• Sumner Municipal Code Sec. 8.14.090
• Tumwater Municipal Code Sec. 8.08.030

Examples from other states (includes outright bans as well as noise restrictions):

• Burlington, VT Municipal Code Article 21-14
• Calistoga, CA Municipal Code Sec. 8.21.020
• Coronado, CA Municipal Code Sec. 36.24.020 – Leaf blowers powered with a combustion or gasoline engine are prohibited.
• Creswell, OR Municipal Code Sec. 9.25.140
• Palos Verdes Estates, CA Municipal Code Sec. 8.28.040
• Pasadena, CA Municipal Code Ch. 9.37
• South Pasadena, CA Municipal Code Sec. 19A.12.4
• Veneta, OR Municipal Code Sec. 9.20.040

The plastic bag ban does not apply to pet waste bags. See RCW 70A.530.020(3)(b), which states that carryout bags provided by a retail establishment do not include “[n]ewspaper bags, mailing pouches, sealed envelopes, door hanger bags, laundry/dry cleaning bags, or bags sold in packages containing multiple bags for uses such as food storage, garbage, or pet waste,” along with other listed types of plastic bags. Some cities use bags with recycled content or biodegradable bags in their pet waste dispensing stations, but it is not required per the plastic bag ban.

Here are a few local examples of pet waste programs and other related resources:

• Bothell: How to safely dispose of pet waste
• Camas Dog Waste
• Everett Pet Waste and Pet Waste Dispensers
• Kirkland Pet Waste Bacteria Monitoring, Outreach and Education (2020)
• Marysville Pet Waste Management
• Redmond: Keep Redmond Clean & Green – See “In your neighborhood” tab
• Seattle What to Do with Pet Waste
• Thurston County Pet Waste Brochure – See “Tips for Bagging It”
• Washington State Department of Ecology: What you can do to manage animal waste

Under RCW 43.19.648(2)(a) all Washington local governments are required to satisfy one hundred percent of their fuel usage for operating publicly owned vessels, vehicles, and construction equipment from electricity or biofuel, “to the extent determined practicable by the rules adopted by the department of commerce.”

Pursuant to RCW 43.325.080, the Washington State Department of Commerce adopted rules in 2016 (effective June 2018) to define what is and is not practicable for compliance with this law. WAC 194-29-020(7) defines “practicable” to mean:

• ...the extent to which alternative fuels and vehicle technologies can be used to displace gasoline and diesel fuel in vehicles, as determined by multiple dynamic factors including cost and availability of fuels and vehicles, changes in fueling infrastructure, operations, maintenance, technical feasibility, implementation costs, and other factors.

Further, WAC 194-29-030(3) provides:

• If a local government believes it is not practicable to use electricity or biofuels to fuel police, fire or other emergency response vehicles, including utility vehicles frequently used for emergency response, it is encouraged to consider alternate fuels and vehicle technologies, such as natural gas or propane, to displace gasoline and diesel fuel use. Local governments that opt to exempt emergency response vehicles from these rules must notify the department as part of their annual reporting under WAC 194-29-080.

All local governments are required to comply with the chapter rules adopted by the Department of Commerce, but reporting is required only by local governments that use more than 200,000 gallons of gas or diesel to fuel vehicles annually (WAC 194-29-040). WAC 194-29-080 sets forth the reporting requirements for local governments who are required to report:

• By July 1 of each year, each local government required to report under WAC 194-29-040 must submit to the department an annual report on a form provided by the department documenting how it is complying with the goal of satisfying one hundred percent of fuel usage for operating vehicles, vessels and construction equipment from electricity or biofuel by June 1, 2018, based on the criteria in WAC 194-29-070, including any reasons for noncompliance and plans for future compliance.

Local governments are not required to retrofit their vehicles or replace them before the end of their useful lives.

Below are examples of cities across the state that are employing various tools (e.g. permitting, education and incentives) to encourage residential solar power. 

City of Bellevue  
Bellevue’s solar panel permitting page includes a checklist for residential photovoltaic systems and several other resources. 

City of Bellingham 
Bellingham created the first solar panel building permit exemption program in the state, eliminating permitting and engineering requirements for almost all residential installations. This link includes green building incentives, including those for solar. 

City of Edmonds 
Edmonds is a Northwest Solar Community, which means it works to promote solar energy and reduce some of the costs associated with solar installations. The program includes a flat fee and height exemptions for rooftop solar installations, among other elements. 

City of Issaquah 
Issaquah no longer requires building permits for certain residential solar installations. The city’s checklist for exemption is similar to Langley’s (below).

City of Kirkland 
As part of a federal Department of Energy grant, Kirkland and other grant partners (Seattle, Bellevue) have developed a streamlined process for the permitting of small-scale rooftop-mounted solar installations for single-family residential customers. 

City of Langley 
Langley no longer requires building permits for small roof-mounted systems less than 15kW. The city’s checklist for small roof-mounted systems is here.  

City of Mercer Island 
The Solarize Mercer Island campaign has been in place since 2014. Mercer Island is part of the Solarize Northwest program that provides discounts from participating installers. 

Solarize Snoqualmie – 2016 Municipal Excellence Award winner. Snoqualmie put together a program to help lower costs for solar installations for residents, detailed here. 

And here are a couple additional resources regarding solar power (albeit several years old now): 

• 2014 MRSC Webinar slides highlighting city opportunities for solar permitting improvements. 
• 2011 Management Memorandum from the City of Bellevue regarding leasing city property for solar installations.