Washington governor seeks $10m for Eastern Washington clean-energy hub

Governor proposes $10m for Richland energy park

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson has proposed spending $10 million on basic infrastructure at the Northwest Advanced Clean Energy Park, an industrial site planned near Richland in Eastern Washington. According to GeekWire, the money would appear in his next two-year capital budget proposal.

If lawmakers approve the request, the funds would pay for sewer, water, electrical and road connections at the park. The site is a master-planned area intended for large-scale clean energy, advanced manufacturing and related supply chains.

Ferguson said in a statement that the spending would support thousands of well-paid jobs and help draw large sums of private money to the area.

From Hanford land to industrial park

The park covers 1,641 acres of land that once belonged to the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, a vast federal site along the Columbia River near the Tri-Cities. Hanford was created during the Second World War to produce plutonium for the Manhattan Project, and a large environmental cleanup is still under way there.

State officials see the former Hanford land as a base for a cluster of energy businesses. The Richland area has already drawn other investment: last year the Seattle fusion startup Avalanche Energy received a $10 million grant from the state Department of Commerce to build FusionWERX, a commercial-scale testing facility for fusion technology, inside an existing Port of Benton building.

Which companies are involved

According to the governor's office, two projects have already committed to the park once infrastructure work is finished. One is a low-carbon fertiliser plant from Atlas Agro. The other is the Ruby Flats Solar Farm, a utility-scale solar project.

Officials also said General Matter is weighing the site for producing advanced nuclear fuel for small reactors. That could complement the Cascade Advanced Energy Facility, a planned nuclear plant made of clustered small reactors that Amazon, X-energy and Energy Northwest intend to build in the same area.

Interest in the park has not always led to deals. In 2024, the Norwegian company Cenate considered building a factory there for lithium-ion battery components, as reported by the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business, but later dropped the plan.

Budget questions remain

The request faces a difficult fiscal backdrop. Washington is preparing its next two-year budget with a multibillion-dollar shortfall, and officials have not agreed on a firm public estimate of its size. Ferguson has acknowledged the gap but has not given a figure.

The shortfall affects the state's operating budget, which pays for day-to-day services. The money proposed for the energy park sits in the separate capital budget, which funds construction and infrastructure. That distinction may matter as lawmakers weigh the request.

The proposal is the latest step in a years-long push to attract clean-energy businesses to the former Hanford site. Whether the $10 million survives the budget process will depend on the legislature, which must approve the spending.