The SCALE 2030 Roadmap charts a path for decarbonizing buildings and positions them as strategic assets for the grid and Washington's economic vitality. The Roadmap builds on two SCALE 2030 white papers that gathered data about Washington’s building stock energy use and proposed a framework for reducing building emissions. With that framework as a starting point, the SCALE 2030 team dove deeper into details, worked with an Advisory Group for feedback, and narrowed down to 16 concrete actions that published in May 2026 as the SCALE 2030 Roadmap.
The primary focus of the Roadmap is actions that can be driven at the state level to develop the institutional and market capacity necessary to scale clean buildings. We considered Tier 1 and Tier 2 buildings as defined by Washington’s Clean Building Performance Standard and proposed a Tier 3 for buildings under 20,000 square feet. Together, the three tiers include all residential and commercial buildings.
The Roadmap actions are grouped into six levers that can drive change across all residential and commercial buildings in Washington. They build on Washington’s existing foundation for clean buildings, including current policy, programs, and funding. The levers are:
The six levers work together to create a clear regulated path for buildings to follow while making it easier for owners and occupants to make upgrades. Despite existing regulations and programs, upgrades that increase the efficiency and comfort of buildings are often expensive and complicated. The Roadmap identifies actions to change that. Here, we highlight five actions from across the levers to show the range of recommendations included in the Roadmap.
Washington’s Clean Building Performance Standard (CBPS) is a powerful tool driving reduced energy use and emissions in the state’s largest buildings. The Roadmap proposes changes that would make the CBPS even more effective, such as publishing interim targets through 2050 so that building owners can plan ahead, adding metrics that address emissions or load flexibility in addition to energy use, and publishing benchmark data to the public.
Market transformation increases adoption of clean buildings technologies by improving their cost and performance, boosting awareness, removing supply chain barriers, increasing workforce training, and innovating incentive and funding structures. The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA),funded by Northwest utilities, advances market transformation in the Northwest. The Roadmap proposes launching a Washington-specific market transformation hub within the Department of Commerce’s Energy Division to support NEEA’s work and fill gaps. The Market Transformation Hub would coordinate closely with NEEA on initiatives to reduce costs and increase access to clean buildings technologies, with a focus on achieving Washington’s emissions goals. For example, it could fund public education campaigns on heat pumps or coordinate bulk buys of electrified equipment.
High upfront costs of building upgrades are often a barrier for households and businesses. One tool to address this for residential and small commercial buildings is Inclusive Utility Investment (IUI), also known as tariffed on-bill financing. While it is not a replacement for low- or no-cost rebate programs, IUI could be a core financing mechanism to enable energy upgrades for moderate income households. In IUI, the cost of an upgrade is paid on a utility bill over time, with a monthly payment that is smaller than the energy savings produced by the upgrade. The customer benefits from slight savings overall and improved comfort from the upgrade. The repayment is tied to the electric meter rather than to an individual, which avoids credit issues and makes the model work for renters. An IUI program could be run through individual utilities or potentially through Washington Builds, the state’s new green bank.
I-937, or the Energy Independence Act, is a key piece of legislation that guides utility requirements for acquiring energy efficiency. Enacted in 2007, the current framework in I-937 focuses on energy efficiency and a 15% renewable portfolio standard requirement. Updating the legislation could align utility requirements with current needs like emissions reductions and load flexibility. The Roadmap proposes a workgroup to consider options for updating I-937. A workgroup could consider frameworks from other states, like Virginia’s recent legislation on grid utilization, or create a more Washington-specific solution that would boost clean buildings, modernize the grid, and promote affordability.
Many of the actions in the Roadmap, such as continuing to capitalize Washington Builds or launching a Market Transformation Hub, require investment from the state. With steep competition for Climate Commitment Act revenue, and an expected future decline in CCA revenue, a dedicated funding source is needed to invest in clean buildings. The Roadmap proposes a utility bill surcharge. The Roadmap does not propose a specific amount, but recommends excluding lower-income households and avoiding major bill impacts. For example, a charge of $.003 per kWh is estimated to raise $246 million annual in Washington when applied to commercial and industrial customers and 80% of households (excluding 20% of households by income), while adding $3 to the average monthly residential bill. Funding could also be used for direct community benefit through grant and rebate programs like Washington’s Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates (HEAR) program.
Washington is well-positioned to implement the Roadmap and fully scale the clean building transition. The state can build upon existing policies and the Washington 2021 State Energy Strategy’s building sector recommendations, leverage its robust community of experienced state agency leads and seasoned clean buildings advocates, and deepen collaboration with transformational organizations like NEEA and Washington Builds.
SCALE 2030’s next step is to catalyze efforts to implement the 16 actions from the Roadmap. The team will support existing work and collaborate with clean building actors to advance early-stage actions. Early-stage actions include envisioning a framework to use utility planning requirements in I-937 to advance distributed energy resources and grid utilization, standing up a Clean Buildings Market Transformation Hub; and establishing a funding source for the clean building transition.
For more details on the Roadmap, register for the June 2, 2026 webinar. For deeper discussion, collaboration, or feedback, reach out to the SCALE 2030 team at scale2030@cleanenergytransition.org.
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