Developed by Governor Jay Inslee, the Clean Energy Fund supports the development, demonstration and deployment of clean energy technologies. The CleanTech Alliance worked in partnership with the Washington State Department of Commerce to encourage support of the first Clean Energy Fund in 2013 and we’ve been involved in every funding cycle since.
The CEF continues to prove its worth by creating jobs, improving energy efficiency, and supporting innovations. Over the years, more than $144 million has been authorized for capital programs that support grid modernization, solar energy, research & development, grants to support lending, and electrification of transportation.
“If we want our students to be leading innovative energy companies in two decades, we need to get them exposure to research and tech via the CEF today.” – Dr. Daniel Schwartz, University of Washington Clean Energy Institute.
Read more about some of the benefits from CEF I & II
Clean Energy Fund Awareness Campaign
At the end of 2020, the CleanTech Alliance hosted a series of informational webinars to raise legislators’ awareness about the benefits of the Clean Energy Fund. The webinars featured recipients of state funding talking about how the Clean Energy Fund helped to unlock matching funds to make their innovative projects a reality. Recordings of the webinars can be found below.
Clean Energy Fund Composite Video– The highlights of all three webinars cut into one video, perfect for those short on time.
Impact Bioenergy– Jan Allen, the CEO of Impact Bioenergy talks about how the money they received for their Vashon Island biodigester helped Washington to become a technology exporter to countries around the world and furthered their unique technology that converts food waste into energy.
Pacific Northwest National Lab– Angela Becker-Dippman from PNNL talks about their Smart Campus technology that coordinates solar panels, battery storage and other assets as well as other innovative technologies made possible by the Clean Energy Fund.
Horn Rapids Solar, Storage, and Training– Dr. Imre Gyuk from the Department of Energy and Jennifer Harper from Energy Northwest talk about the first-of-its-kind project that combines solar panels with battery storage and technician training; ensuring that Washington has workers with right skills to succeed in a clean energy economy.
2021 Clean Energy Fund Awareness Campaign
Recordings from the 2021 Clean Energy Fund awareness campaign can be found below.
Sironix Renewables– Christoph Krumm, CEO and co-founder of Sironix Renewables talks about how the Clean Energy Fund enabled his company to go from a small startup to a thriving business that opened a new facility in North Seattle.
Avista– Curt Kirkeby from Avista talked about the utility’s role in creating the “five smartest blocks in the world” in Spokane’s Ecodistrict as well as the other funding and partnerships made possible through the Clean Energy Fund.
Other Videos
In partnership with the Washington State Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Energy, the CleanTech Alliance produced videos of a couple of the Clean Energy Fund projects.
For Virtual CleanTech Day in January of 2021, some of the funding awardees created videos highlighting their innovative projects.
- Impact Bioenergy’s Vashon Bioenergy Farm
- Avista’s CEF Projects
- Pacific Northwest National Lab’s Transactive Campus
White Paper and Regional CEF Reports
In 2019, CleanTech Alliance Government Affairs lead Lindsay McCormick with the help of Carl Seip from Craft3 and Ann Goos from Washington State University authored a white paper about the Clean Energy Fund detailing the fund, the projects it supported, its benefits to the clean energy ecosystem and more. Information from the white paper including a map of which legislative district each of the projects are located in was then broken down into a series of regional one-pagers and given to legislators so that they could see how the CEF benefited their district.
CEF White Paper by CleanTech Government Affairs Lead Lindsay McCormick
Regional One-pagers:
- Northwest Washington
- Southwest Washington
- Central Puget Sound Region
- Central Washington
- Eastern Washington
- Peninsula Region
- Low Carbon Fuel Standard
The Clean Energy Fund is continually evolving and the CleanTech Alliance has always made it a priority to monitor the CEF and advocate for more funding to help strengthen the clean energy ecosystem.
Stay up to date with all the CEF developments and other public policy news here.