History and mission

History

Our beginnings

In 1970, the Legislature created our agency to provide a "one-stop shop" for siting and permitting large energy facilities. The goal was to:

• Create a single decision-making organization, bringing together government agencies with different priorities  
• Balance the need for new energy facilities with the broad interests of the public

Becoming an independent state agency

After years of being part of larger agencies, we became an independent state agency on June 30, 2022. 

This change was part of the EFSEC Modification Act of 2022 (E2SHB 1812), which aimed to modernize us to help meet the state’s clean energy goals. The legislation also:  

• Increased transparency around planned energy facilities through public comment periods and forums 
• Increased engagement with federally recognized tribes, local governments and overburdened communities 
• Added a pre-application review process, which allows us to review a draft application and suggest additional studies or stakeholder or tribal input to include in the final application 
• Expanded the list of facilities that can apply with us to include green hydrogen, clean energy product manufacturing, storage facilities and other alternative energy facilities 
• Further defined our role in promoting environmental justice and the protection of cultural resources 

Mission

In 2026, we adopted a new strategic plan that establishes our vision as preservation and protection of environmental quality while fostering Washington's capacity to provide reliable, sustainable, and affordable energy for all and our mission as building confidence in clear, fair, and efficient siting and oversight for the people of Washington that balances our state's needs for energy, healthy communities, and sustainable environment.

Learn more about us by accessing our 2026-2028 Strategic Plan. 

Leadership Team

Learn more about our team at EFSEC by visiting Our leadership.

Siting and regulation of major energy facilities

Some energy facilities must use EFSEC to site and permit their facility; others can opt in to our siting process. Once we receive an application for site certification, we will review it and make a recommendation to the governor to approve or disapprove the project. If approved, we will oversee the project for its full lifetime, including construction, operations, decommissioning and site restoration.

Facilities required to work with us for siting and regulation include: 

• Large-scale thermal power plants (350 megawatts or more) 
• Nuclear fission facilities 
• Transmission lines of over 500 kilovolts (kV) 
• Natural gas and oil pipelines 
• Oil refineries 
• Underground natural gas storage fields  

Voluntary siting and regulation

The following types of facilities may choose to use our siting and permitting process instead of local government processes or the Department of Ecology’s coordinated clean energy permit process: 

• Wind energy 
• Solar energy 
• Renewable or green electrolytic hydrogen 
• Geothermal energy 
• Renewable natural gas 
• Wave or tidal action 
• Biofuels 
• Biomass energy 
• Clean energy product manufacturing 
• Battery storage or manufacturing 
• Pumped storage 

To understand how our process differs from others, read the Department of Ecology’s article on options for permitting clean energy projects (PDF 24KB).