Washington’s first year of auctions raised more than expected, generating a flood of revenue for projects to hasten the renewable energy transition and adapt to climate change. In addition to greening the ferries, the money is paying to build and install air-quality monitors in parts of the state hit hard by pollution and wildfire smoke; to replace gas furnaces and install more efficient heat-pumps; and to allow everyone 18 and younger to ride public buses and ferries free.

Just how much the program has contributed to gas prices remains hotly debated. Ecology officials now put the impact at up to 25 cents a gallon. Others, including the Association of Washington Business, say the program costs drivers 45 cents per gallon. At the moment, gas prices in Washington are 32 cents per gallon higher on average than in neighboring Oregon, according to AAA.

  • silence7@slrpnk.netOP
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    9 months ago

    Yes, that’s who pays. The tax got passed on to consumers, along with the oil industry using it as an excuse to raise their margins

    The impact is to make it more cost-effective to choose machinery which doesn’t need fossil fuels in the first place