Gov. Jay Inslee wants Washingtonians traveling in greener vehicles and burning less carbon over the next two years under a $427 million plan to fight climate change.
The governor’s climate plan includes $230 million for electrifying buses, ferries, and new charging stations for electric vehicles. Inslee’s office says this will save the state $14 million in ferry operating costs and mitigate noises harmful to local Puget Sound orcas.
Each new electric ferry would create 560 new jobs and cut more than 16,000 tons of carbon dioxide (C02) per year, based on estimates from Inslee’s office.
Another $100 million would be divided up among seven renewable infrastructure projects such as renewable bio-fertilizer for dairy farms, clean energy research, and solar power grids.
In 2019, more than 85,000 people in the state were employed in the renewable energy sector, according to Environmental Entrepreneurs.
The business group reported that around 17,000 jobs in the sector were lost in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.