We’re Back from Texas and Ready to Build

We’re back in the Pacific Northwest! We’re kicking off our boots, daydreaming about barbecue, and are absolutely full of ideas on how Washington state can take a cue from Texas and start building much more clean energy, much faster.

Each week, we’ll break down what we learned during Study Mission 6.0: Building Bigger & Faster in Texas, with a focus on new connections and actionable insights. Some of our immediate takeaways include:

Texas has a dramatically different cultural and political stance towards clean energy development. Their processes are oriented towards saying yes. In Washington, we provide many opportunities to say no. The results are clear!
Over the last several decades, Texas has made deliberate policy choices, from a “connect and manage” approach by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), to streamlined permitting, to their Competitive Renewable Energy Zones that built out significant transmission infrastructure, to a tax structure that generates local buy-in.
To quote one of our delegation members, “clean energy production moves at the pace of technology and economics.” In Texas they’re showing that pace can move very, very quickly. Washington needs to catch up, or else we risk continued paralysis that will exacerbate energy costs, jeopardize our emissions reduction goals, and further constrain our grid.

Study Mission 6.0: Building Bigger & Faster in Texas delegation at RWE Clean Energy “Big Star Solar” in Bastrop County, Texas. Delegation stands in a group in front of solar panels. — *The delegation is briefed at the “Big Star Solar” facility, which features 200 megawatts (MW) of solar, 80 MW of battery storage, and transmission infrastructure on-site*

We want to extend a massive thank you to our delegation for being highly engaged, hungry (in more ways than one) and oriented toward collaborative, actionable solutions. And thank you to all of our new friends who hosted and briefed us on the trip – they’re not kidding about Texas hospitality!

Here’s some recommended reading/listening from the Clean & Prosperous team to learn more about the Texas energy landscape:

Thank you to our sponsors for making Study Mission 6.0: Building Bigger & Faster in Texas possible!

Join Us June 4 in Spokane for a WAZIP Ride & Drive

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), CALSTART, Clean & Prosperous, and Avista invite you to participate in the Washington Zero-Emission Incentive Program (WAZIP) Eastern Washington Ride & Drive.

At the WAZIP Eastern Washington Ride & Drive, you’ll have the opportunity to learn more about the program and also view and test drive some of the trucks and equipment that are eligible for voucher incentives under the program. Both on-road trucks and off-road equipment will be showcased at the event.

You can find more information—including the list of WAZIP-eligible equipment, program rules, and voucher amounts—on the program website.

Event details:

Date: Thursday, June 4, 2026
Time: 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Location: Avista Utilities Headquarters, 1411 E Mission Ave, Spokane, WA 99220
- Limited parking is available on-site
- Light lunch will be provided

Registration is strongly encouraged: register here. If you are registering multiple members of your organization, each must be signed up individually.

We hope to see you there!

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