Washington state has earned its reputation for pairing innovation with responsibility. We believe economic growth, strong labor standards, and clean energy leadership can move forward together. That balance matters as lawmakers consider House Bill 2515 and the future of data centers in our state.
The intent behind HB 2515 is understandable. Lawmakers want to protect ratepayers, ensure grid reliability, and align growth with Washington’s clean energy goals. Those are shared priorities. The problem is that this bill is not the right path to achieving them and is unlikely to solve the challenge it aims to address.
Much of the debate treats data centers as something separate from daily life. That framing misses a basic reality. Data centers do not exist on their own. They exist because all of us use them.
If you are reading this article online, it passed through a data center. Every small business website, online sales system, Teams call, electronic medical record, banking transaction, emergency communication, and social media post depends on one. Even the public debate around this bill, much of it happening online, ultimately runs through data centers.
In today’s economy, the cloud is not optional. It is critical infrastructure for residents, businesses, and government, just as essential as roads, ports, and power systems.
Recognizing data centers as critical infrastructure does not mean ignoring accountability. Washingtonians rightly expect sustainability, transparency, and fairness. But HB 2515 focuses on singling out one category of customer, rather than addressing the underlying issue, which is how quickly we can build clean energy and modernize the grid to meet growing demand.
Washington already has strong oversight and some of the cleanest electricity policies in the country. Large energy users are required to pay their full cost of service, including infrastructure upgrades and grid connections. Utilities and regulators already have the authority to prevent cost shifting to residential customers. Adding new layers of uncertainty does not strengthen oversight. It makes long-term planning harder.
It is also important to be clear about incentives. Data center operators already want to be efficient because efficiency saves money and improves reliability. The more productive policy question is how to accelerate clean energy deployment and grid upgrades so that growing digital demand is met responsibly.
There are real examples of what this can look like. In downtown Seattle, Amazon uses waste heat from a data center to help warm nearby office buildings. That kind of innovation happens when policy encourages integration and efficiency rather than discouraging investment.
Data centers also matter for workers and communities. They create family-wage construction jobs that cannot be outsourced and generate long-term tax revenue and infrastructure investment. If Washington sends a signal that these projects are unpredictable or unwelcome, the investment will move elsewhere without reducing demand for digital services.
HB 2515 is well-intentioned, but it does not address the real challenge Washington faces. The solution is not to slow or penalize critical infrastructure. The solution is to build clean energy faster, modernize the grid, and hold all participants to high standards.
Washington has succeeded by leading with facts, fairness, and foresight. Data centers power the services we use every day because we choose to use them. We should regulate them wisely and work collaboratively to ensure growth supports our climate goals, our workers, and the communities that rely on them.
Joe Nguyen is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.
Heather Kurtenbach is the Executive Secretary of the Washington State Building & Construction Trades Council.
