Financial incentives are a vital tool for encouraging the adoption of energy-efficient practices and technologies in businesses and residences. Energy-efficient incentives can be in the form of loans, rebates, grants, or bonds. Tax credits and deductions on income and eligible products are additional ways to make energy-efficient upgrades on new and existing builds more affordable.

Each state has its own set of energy-efficient incentives, along with ones at the federal level. Here’s a look at the incentives for Washington state.

Incentives for Washington

The following are incentives for WA consumers can take advantage of for their energy-efficient upgrades.

• Energy Retrofits for Public Buildings Grant: These grants provide funding for projects that produce operation costs and energy savings at public schools and associated government and state agencies. The grants apply to schools grades K through 12.
• Clean Energy Fund Research, Development, and Demonstration: These grants match funds provided by federal and non-state agencies on research and development projects focusing on new and emerging technologies.
• Clean Energy Fund Grid Modernization: These grants provide additional funding to improve community resilience to changing weather patterns, support clean and renewable energy technologies, improve the integration of renewable energy sources, deployment of distributed energy resources and sustainable microgrids. The grants also support the state’s decarbonization goals, including the requirements placed on electric utilities.
• Clean Energy Fund Electrification of Transportation Systems: These grants help prioritize projects that lead to meaningful and enduring benefits to communities with high levels of air pollution or are burdened by climate change. The grants also address the lack of transportation in underserved communities. Some of the projects that grant support include the use of demand-side technologies, accelerating the electrification of the transportation industry, and the development of EV charging systems along highways, freeways, and other heavily trafficked areas across Washington state.
• Clean Energy Fund Building Electrification: These grants are designed to advance project goals set in 2021 for the state’s energy plan for high-efficiency all-electric buildings. Some of the areas the grant supports are shifting from fossil-fuel-powered heat pumps to electric ones, energy-efficient control systems, on-site renewable energy generation, and other measures that significantly reduce building energy levels. Preference is given to projects based on the total amount of greenhouse gas reductions estimated by the project’s completion.
• Community Energy Efficiency Program: The Community Energy Efficiency Program (CEEP) is a community-based program that identifies and funds pilot projects that will provide community-wide urban residential and commercial energy efficiency retrofits and upgrades. Implementing these energy-efficient upgrades can produce an estimated $1.7 million annually in energy cost savings.
• Clean Buildings Performance Standard Incentive: This is a performance-based incentive for building owners who adopted energy-efficient practices in accordance with Washington state’s energy performance standards for large buildings. The incentive is 85 cents per square foot and eligible buildings must be 15 EUI over the target set.

These incentives for WA are competitive grants. Each applicant will be competing against others for grant funding.

When you are ready to start applying for incentives in Washington state, contact Incentive Rebate360. We will help you find applicable energy-efficient incentives and take care of the application process. Call 480-653-8180, email [email protected], or schedule a call that fits your needs by clicking the button below.

Reference: American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (2023). State and Local Policy Database. ACEEE. https://database.aceee.org/state/financial-incentives