From Washington State: National Model for renewable energy.

• Position: TRENDS AND TRANSITIONS

Washington suffered a severe energy crisis in 2001. Shortages in California and the lowest water levels in the Columbia River since the 1940s, which placed severe limitations on the hydropower industry, were the causes. The result is a national model for renewable energy.

"This energy crisis spurred interest in alternatives and everyone got involved in energy conservation," says Washington Senator Karen Fraser.

In 2005, Governor Christine Gregoire signed into law what has been touted as the most progressive renewable energy legislation in the country. In early spring, two bills worked their way through the legislature at a steady clip with bipartisan support. The legislation was not controversial, according to Fraser, one of the bills' sponsors. "There is a broad feeling of support in the state to encourage renewable energy sources."

Washington's approach represents what some are calling a paradigm shift for U.S. solar legislation, an approach that has been overwhelmingly successful in Germany. The first bill--S.B. 5101--establishes a renewable energy "feed-in" production incentive. This incentive allows homeowners and small businesses with solar photovoltaic and wind power systems to earn a credit of 15 cents per kWh of electricity generated by...