Much of the U.S. clean energy news of late has chronicled federal efforts to systematically dismantle projects and funding that would accelerate an equitable clean energy transition. So, it was with great excitement that I learned about the passage of two critically important pieces of California legislation this month that could keep momentum building for clean energy on the West Coast. The first is California Assembly Bill (AB) 825, the so-called Pathways Initiative Legislation, which clears the way for California’s energy market operator (CAISO) to join anew, independent, West-wide organization governed solely by Western interests.
Our friends at the Northwest Energy Coalition released an excellent statement that explores the importance of this legislation. CETI Research Analyst Jeanne Currie wrote two blogs a year ago about energy markets – An Intro to Electricity Markets in the Northwest and The Northwest’s Path to a Day Ahead Market – that are worth re-reading to understand how important it is to create a coordinated Western energy market. This legislation is a big step in the right direction.
The second bill is AB 1207, which extends California’s cap-and-trade system from 2030 to 2045 and provides a path for California, Washington, and Quebec to join together in a linked carbon market. This Seattle Times article explains what this bill means for Washington’s cap-and-invest market.
Statewide leadership to support regional efforts to accelerate the clean energy transition is critically important during this time of federal pullback. In addition, using market solutions is a viable way to continue to make progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, cleaning up our air, and investing in communities to enjoy the benefits of a clean energy economy.
Eileen V. Quigley
Executive Director
The U.S. Department of Energy recently released the 2025 U.S. Energy and Employment Report (USEER). This comprehensive report details 2024 energy employment data and hiring trends across energy sectors and occupations. For the first time, this year’s report includes data on wages and employer benefits.
The CETI Team is updating our Northwest Clean Energy Atlas Jobs visualizations with this new data, which will be released next month to provide an updated snapshot of energy employment in the Northwest – stay tuned.
This month, Research Intern Sabine Blumenthal updated our Northwest Electricity Capacity and Northwest Electricity Generation visualizations on the Northwest Clean Energy Atlas with new 2023 data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
The public comment period for the draft Oregon Energy Strategy ended on September 22, 2025, and the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) team is working its way through all the input received over the six weeks that the draft was out for discussion. The CETI team will continue to support the ODOE teams work to finalize the strategy in the coming months.
The SCALE 2030 team has assembled a Strategic Advisory Group to inform the development of a Clean Buildings Transition Roadmap for Washington State. The first half-day workshop for the Advisory Group will be held on October 17. The Advisory Group is comprised of representatives from state, county, and city agencies, nonprofit organizations, service providers, and trade associations.
For September’s Demystifying Decarbonization installment, Research Analyst Ruby Moore-Bloom picks up the thread from the work we did with our Decarbonization Forum in April 2025 that examined the impact of data center energy use on the Northwest’s electricity grid and clean energy transition. In this piece, she explores strategies to protect ratepayers from bearing the cost of the infrastructure and transmission investments needed to support data center growth in the Northwest, and highlights a policy to that effect that passed in Oregon’s 2025 session. Check it out: Oregon’s POWER Act Addresses Ratepayer Impact of Large Energy Users
Our SCALE 2030 Clean Building Series is back. Jeanne breaks down the Performance as a Resource Ecosystem concept put forward in CETI’s SCALE 2030: Clean Buildings Transition Framework for Washington as a strategy for scaling performance-driven clean buildings. You can read the full blog on our website.
This month, Eileen and Ruby wrote a three-part series on how the Oregon Energy Strategy developed from April 2024 through September 2025.
Eileen was honored to present at the E8 Annual Member Meeting at the University of Washington on September 11. Her presentation, “Making Clean Energy Progress in Uncertain Times” shared insights on what shifts are happening in clean energy trends, the current state of grid stress, promising innovations in clean energy technology, and where investors should focus their resources. E8 is a cleantech investor group based in Washington state with members from around the country. Since its inception, E8 members have invested over $68M into more than 170 cleantech startups.
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