Senate Bill 6004 (prefiled 01/07/26, sponsors Senators Boehnke and Shewmake) modifies existing law to expand and clarify the contracting authority of various public entities for renewable resource and nonemitting electric generation projects. The bill authorizes public entities (including cities, towns, code cities, public utility districts, joint operating and operating agencies, and publicly or privately owned utilities) to contract not only for the actual output of such projects but also for the projects’ capability to produce electricity. It permits contract terms that require payments regardless of whether a project is completed, operable, or operating and despite suspension, interruption, interference, reduction, or curtailment of project output, and allows contracts to state that payments are not subject to reduction and shall not be conditioned on the performance or nonperformance of the other contracting parties. This bill amends multiple existing RCW sections (35.22.705; 35.23.705; 35.27.610; 35.92.420; 35A.80.020; 35A.80.050; 43.52.410; 43.52.595; and 54.16.370) and replaces prior references to “qualified alternative energy resources” with the terms defined in RCW 19.405.020. The extracted bill text omits the definition language from RCW 19.405.020 and cuts off part of the amendment to RCW 54.16.370, so the precise definitions and the remainder of that section’s change are not available from the provided material.

If enacted, the bill would let many Washington public entities (firstand second-class cities, code cities, towns, public utility districts, joint operating and operating agencies, and certain utilities) sign contracts that pay for a renewable or nonemitting project’s capability rather than, or in addition to, the actual electricity delivered, and those contracts can require payments even if the project is not completed, is curtailed, or otherwise not producing. Practically, that creates stronger, more certain revenue streams for project owners and developers—making it easier to finance projects—while shifting real financial exposure to the public contracting agencies because payments can be nonreducible and not conditioned on the other party’s performance. The groups most affected are the public contracting entities (and ultimately their ratepayers or taxpayers), which could face new long‑term fixed payment obligations and higher fiscal risk if projects underperform or are delayed, and project developers and owners, who would gain more predictable cash flow. Important details about what counts as a “renewable resource” or “nonemitting electric generation” and some limiting language are missing from the provided text, so the exact scope of allowable contracts and any consumer protections or fiscal limits remain unclear.