Senate budget writers unveiled their proposed 2024 supplemental capital budget, which provides WSU with a start of the billion-plus dollars that will be needed for the Pullman campus to become compliant with the Climate Commitment Act.
The state’s “cap and invest” decarbonization law was approved by the Legislature in 2021. The Pullman campus is a regulated entity under the act. To comply with the law, the campus will need to replace two natural gas fired steam plants as its primary heating source. This would also require retrofitting 7 miles of steam tunnels that service 151 buildings on campus. The Senate capital budget proposal released Thursday would provide $10 million.
The budget also provided $10 million for a new digester at the Knott Dairy and $1 million for minor works preservation efforts.
The House is scheduled to release its capital budget proposal on Monday. Following that, the two chambers will collaborate to develop a compromise budget that is sent to the governor for signature.
You can find WSU’s testimony on the Senate’s proposed capital budget below: