Starting the Year Strong with State Climate and Clean Energy Policy

Advancing new climate and clean energy policies at the state level is essential to keep momentum for climate action going and continue progress towards The Nature Conservancy’s 2030 goals. As part of our commitment to tackling climate change, last year, TNC played a role in the passage of 10 different state policies. Since then, we have doubled down on our commitment to state policy. In the first six months of 2026, TNC helped advance 12 more state climate and clean energy policies and defended against rollbacks to existing climate laws. The wins came from six states, and we’re working in states across the country to achieve similar success in the future.

At the beginning of the year, TNC released a new state policy roadmap that helps state lawmakers create and support clean energy policies that are also good for people and nature. Many of the policies we helped advance this year are directly related to recommendations included in that report.

TNC’s strong relationships with state-level policy leaders and partners across the country were critical to recent successes. Our scientific expertise, advocacy and campaigning all played a role in getting these policies across the finish line. We will continue to build on these successes and guard against future rollbacks to help make lasting change for climate, nature and people.

Below are summaries of 2026 state climate and energy policy achievements.

Iowa

Iowa became the latest state to allow new power lines to be built along interstate highways after it passed Senate File 2214. This will make it easier for electricity to get from where it’s generated to where it’s used without requiring significant new development of natural places. The law also allows builders to work with one landowner—the Iowa Department of Transportation—to site the new power lines, making the process more efficient and streamlined. Last year, Colorado passed a similar law. In both Iowa and Colorado, TNC worked with NextGen Highways coalitions to get the bills passed. Working with partners across the country to build coalitions and leverage our trusted relationship with lawmakers to advocate for these policies was central to our success.

Oregon

Oregon passed two new laws that will help the state get the most out of existing clean energy projects and funding opportunities. House Bill 4031 created a temporary way to speed up the siting and permitting process for large renewable energy projects. This bill was passed with the specific purpose of allowing renewable energy developers to take advantage of a set of expiring federal clean energy tax credits.

Also passed this session, House Bill 4076 will allow renewable energy projects to generate more electricity on their land. For example, a project could add new solar panels under existing wind turbines. Before, if an energy developer wanted to do something like this, they’d have to renegotiate their agreements about how the energy they generate can connect to the grid. This allows renewable energy projects to maximize their energy production without expanding its footprint which would require developing more land.

Washington

Washington state hit the ground running this year, passing six climate and energy bills in roughly three months. Here’s what these bills would do:

• Senate Bill 5982 updates the state’s existing Clean Energy Transformation Act to include large energy consumers, like data centers, in the law’s regulations. The purpose of the bill is to make data centers more accountable for their energy purchasing and use.
• Senate Bill 6010 now requires tribal consultation before the start of any new energy projects that could affect tribal lands, resources or rights. This makes tribal sovereignty a formal part of Washington’s energy project siting process, ensuring Indigenous communities have a role in decisions about new projects on or near their lands.
• House Bill 1903 established a statewide low-income energy assistance program to help reduce energy burden—the amount of a person’s income spent on energy costs—on low-income households in Washington.
• House Bill 1960 aims to encourage large-scale renewable energy development by shifting how solar, wind and battery storage facilities pay taxes. The tax revenue is intended to fund local investments and community benefits.
• House Bill 2367 ends state-level preferential treatment for coal plants including tax breaks and regulatory exemptions. This will help make sure the state’s climate goals and how it reports and ensures compliance with emissions regulations are in line with each other. The new law will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve local air quality.
• Senate Bill 5466 created a new centralized state agency, the Washington Electric Transmission Authority, to plan, finance and help build electric transmission infrastructure, such as new power lines. The law aims to improve the reliability and resilience of the electrical grid in Washington and increase access to low-cost renewable energy.

Despite these successes, this was a challenging session in Washington. The state legislature allowed some of the funding from the state’s signature climate law, the Climate Commitment Act, to fill in for the state’s budget shortfall. This will limit how many investments the state can make in new climate and clean energy projects.

Massachusetts

This year, Massachusetts completed an almost three-year effort to establish and implement the rules of a bill passed in 2024 that streamlines the energy siting process in the state. Now, the state will better integrate its goals—such as protection of biodiversity, increasing forest carbon and building community resilience—so that new clean energy projects can aim for no net loss to nature. The new siting process will also help expand small-scale renewable energy projects and use science-based criteria and requirements to help determine the best place to build new clean energy projects. Combined with an increased focus on working with the communities living near new projects, this updated siting process will help advance clean energy in ways that best protect nature and people.

New York

New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act—one of the most ambitious climate laws in the country—came under fire this year. TNC worked hard with our partners in the state to protect this law and our efforts helped prevent an even worse outcome. But in the end, the state’s leadership slowed progress on expanding clean energy development in the state and the implementation of a cap-and-invest program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This will delay the benefits of cleaner air and more affordable and reliable energy. Despite these setbacks, the state maintained its long-term climate commitments, invested $1 billion in climate and clean energy projects, and passed the ASAP Act to enable locally produced distributed solar energy. It’s more important than ever for states to continue to lead instead of backtrack on climate and clean energy policies.