Sen. Matt Boehnke, R-Kennewick/Courtesy of the Washington State Senate
As summer winds down, I’m proud to share the latest from my work as Washington’s representative in the Western Energy Caucus (WEC)—a bipartisan regional coalition addressing critical energy challenges across the West.
This June, I was honored to be selected for the inaugural WEC cohort due to my leadership in energy innovation, clean-tech workforce development, and public-private collaboration. Alongside lawmakers from 11 western states, I engaged in the Caucus’s first international policy exchange in Denmark. There, we studied cutting-edge clean energy systems—from district heating networks to carbon capture technologies. These insights are already informing how we modernize Washington’s energy infrastructure.
The WEC, initiated by the Institute for Western Energy, is an invitation-only bipartisan group of state policymakers committed to collaborating on energy policy for the West. Its mission is to foster reliable, affordable, and clean energy across the region through public-private partnerships, strategic coordination, and policy development.
The WEC’s primary focus areas are grid reliability and resiliency, western transmission needs, advanced dispatchable generation and energy storage, wildfire mitigation, and carbon management and sequestration.
These priorities reflect both pressing needs and opportunities: growing energy demand, increasing climate volatility, and the chance to catalyze tens of thousands of clean-energy jobs while cutting costs and emissions.
The WEC will convene two more policy summits this year, where members will collaboratively craft model legislation, regional strategies, and best-practice frameworks to support state legislatures—including Washington’s—in advancing clean-energy solutions in 2026.
Why does this matter for Washington and the 8th District?
Local innovation and global inspiration. Exporting lessons from Denmark’s energy systems can accelerate our shift toward resilient and low-cost infrastructure here at home.
Economic and job growth. By championing a modern energy economy, we can drive job creation across Eastern Washington’s clean-tech, engineering, and construction sectors.
Regional leadership. As part of WEC, Washington, and especially the Tri-Cities area, has a voice in shaping broader Western energy policy, ensuring our region’s interests are front and center.
Strategic collaboration. This is collaboration in action—across states, parties, and sectors—to address energy and climate challenges with solutions that benefit people, businesses, and communities.
As your senator, I’m fully committed to leveraging the Western Energy Caucus to promote pragmatic, long-term energy strategies that build a more resilient and affordable future. Whether through enhanced grid resiliency, smarter transmission planning, or cleaner energy investments, we’re working to ensure Washington rises to meet the challenges and opportunities of our time.