July brought the passage of the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB),” one focus of which is to derail the United States’ pursuit of a clean energy transition. While the ramifications of this extreme reversal are yet to be fully experienced, we know that the onus is on us at the regional, state, and local levels to keep pushing forward and make the clean energy transition happen technically and equitably. If you want a useful cheat sheet that compares the Inflation Reduction Act to the OBBB, the CETI Team recommends this from Third Way. Below you will find more OBBB resources.
I participated in a PNW Climate Week panel, “Powering Through: Local Climate Action in a Shifting Policy Landscape,” on July 16 and was asked how to keep climate action moving forward in the Pacific Northwest over the next year. My response: We dig into the barriers to an equitable clean energy transition; focus on affordability and financing; collaborate authentically; support the hardworking public servants who have a very tough job to do with significantly fewer resources than they had six months ago; and do all we can to shield those with the least resources from bearing the brunt of the transition.
CETI will keep looking for ways to collaborate with our partners and innovate at every possible opportunity.
Speaking of our partners, a huge congratulations to Tamara Kennedy, whom the Northwest Energy Coalition selected as the organization’s next Executive Director. She takes the helm on August 1 from Nancy Hirsh, who has led the organization since 2015.
Another CETI ally, Renewable Northwest, secured funding to establish the Montana Energy Business Alliance (MEBA) as an independent nonprofit. MEBA's mission is to advocate “for the proper planning and investment required to realize a reliable, affordable and increasingly clean energy supply” in Montana.
Here at CETI, we are hiring a part-time web designer/developer to lead the maintenance, design evolution, strategic development, and analytics of CETI’s three websites and digital platforms. If you, or someone you know, is interested in joining our team, please apply! We’re a great team, and ambitious plans and communications are at the heart of how we achieve our important mission.
Sadly for the CETI Team, and especially for me, the reason we seek a new webmaster is that Caleb Smith is moving on. I have been collaborating with Caleb for over a decade, and he launched CETI with me in 2018. CETI would not be where we are today without Caleb’s creative web design and development skills.
Elizabeth Willmott, who had been on our Advisory Council since CETI’s inception but joined the team last summer, is also stepping back. Elizabeth and I have worked together off and on for 15 years. She, too, will be sorely missed.
Finally, check out the refresh we have done with all new headshots for the CETI team!
Eileen V. Quigley
Executive Director
Hot off the press, Evolved Energy Research, our deep decarbonization pathways modeling partner of six years, released its latest REPEAT modeling with Princeton University that shows how the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 stands to derail the country’s clean energy transition – “The bottom line: The OBBB raises energy costs for households and businesses, slashes clean energy investment, disrupts both new and planned energy infrastructure, and leads to higher U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.” Check out their analysis.
For more exploration of the impact of the OBBB, on July 11, 2025, Climate XChange and Evergreen Collaborative hosted a webinar about the impacts of the federal budget reconciliation bill on clean energy, climate, and other key sectors, as well as what actions states can take to fill the policy gaps that will emerge in the wake of this legislation’s passage. You can find the recording, slide deck, and a recap of the webinar here.
During the event Jordan Gerow from Climate XChange reminded attendees that while tax credits remain unavailable, states and localities still have opportunities to access IRA direct/elective pay for certain credits before phaseout deadlines hit. Relevant guides to help access those funds can be found from S2 Strategies, Lawyers for Good Government, Deloitte, and RMI.
Other useful resources include the Climate Program Portal’s What’s Getting Cut? and Heatmap’s The Senate’s Harsh Compromise on Clean Energy Tax Credits, Explained.
CETI and Evolved Energy Research have been supporting the Washington Department of Commerce with energy pathways modeling to inform the state’s Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP) as part of the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) process. The draft CCAP is available and individuals have the opportunity to provide public comment from now until August 22. For those who prefer to provide verbal comments, there will be a virtual public comment listening session on August 12, 2025 from 5:30 to 7:00pm. Check out the Washington Climate Partnership website for more information on the CCAP process and how to get involved.
We continue to support the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) with technical and economic analysis for the Oregon Energy Strategy with our partner, BW Research, who recently completed modeling jobs impacts of different clean energy pathways. ODOE will release its preliminary policy recommendations along with the jobs analysis findings in a public webinar on August 14, 2025. You can find more information on the ODOE Energy Strategy website. A public comment period will follow.
We produced a condensed summary of the key insights from the SCALE 2030 papers (released in May) that explore how Washington can accelerate an equitable clean buildings transition, Scaling Building Decarbonization: Key Insights from SCALE 2030. In addition, Research Analyst Jeanne Currie has written the first installment of a monthly blog series that will dive deep into key aspects of the SCALE 2030: Clean Buildings Transition Framework for Washington. More on that below!
Oregon’s 83rd legislative session concluded on June 29, 2025. CETI Communications Manager Jamie Ptacek wrote a recap of key clean energy- and climate-related policies that the Oregon Legislature considered this year. Check it out.
Over the next several months, we will be exploring key insights from SCALE 2030 in a monthly blog series.
In this first installment of the series, Jeanne breaks down the eight Clean Energy Regions (Figure 1) proposed in the Clean Buildings Transition Framework for Washington as essential to accomplish a clean buildings transition tailored to the unique needs of communities across the state. Read the blog to learn more.
Last year, we wrote about strategies to ensure communities benefit from the clean energy transition. This month, Research Analyst Ruby Moore-Bloom dove deep into two community benefits tools: Community Benefits Agreements (CBAs) and Tribal Benefits Agreements (TBAs).
Early bird registration for the 2025 Washington State Solar Summit ends on July 31. The event will take place on October 24, 2025, at South Seattle Community College, and Ruby will present on one of the panels. We hope to see you there!
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