Washington State Ferries said it would deploy its new electric ferries first on the Mukilteo-Clinton run. The short route is currently served by diesel ferries like the Tokitae, seen here approaching Whidbey Island. (Photo by Tom Banse)
Washington aspires for its largest-in-the-nation fleet of passenger ferries to operate reliably and emission-free by 2050.
To get there, the plan is to convert six existing vessels to hybrid-electric power, build 16 new plug-in boats, and add shore charging to 16 terminals — all by 2040.
But only one conversion is done. And neither new vessels nor electrified terminals are expected to be operational before the end of the decade.
With projects taking longer and costing more than expected, achieving the ambitious mid-century goal for the ferry system looks increasingly unattainable.
“We can’t do everything we want to do. We can’t buy everything we want to buy, so let’s talk about the priorities,” said Rep. Jake Fey, D-Tacoma, chair of the state House Transportation Committee, ahead of a work session Tuesday on where things stand in the ferry agency’s pursuit of electrification.
Rep. Andrew Barkis, R-Olympia, the lead Republican on the committee, agreed after the meeting.
“We need to sit down and review this whole thing — how we’re doing this, why we’re doing this — for the next 20 years for Washington State Ferries,” he said.
Conversion of the Wenatchee, a Jumbo Mark II-class vessel with a 202-car capacity, is done and it returns to service Thursday, a year later than expected. Its $133 million cost is much more than originally budgeted. Planned conversions of two other boats are on hold indefinitely.
A week ago, Gov. Bob Ferguson announced he’d accepted Florida-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group’s bid to build three new hybrid electric ferries. The first one — at a total cost of about $405 million — is expected to be delivered in about five years.
The large price tags and long timelines are stirring conversations among lawmakers and with the governor on how they can erase Washington State Ferries’ carbon wake, given limited resources and high demand for service.
“The path from here to there is going to be a little more unpredictable and bumpy, but we’re going to get there,” said Sen. Marko Liias, D-Edmonds, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. “We’re headed in the right direction.”
Liias said he’s ready to focus on procuring new boats and using cleaner, renewable diesel to fuel existing ones, and pause converting existing boats to electric power for the time being.
A new boat will be in use for 60 years while a converted one gains an estimated 25 years of service, he said. Adding new vessels and switching the entire fleet to cleaner-burning diesel could get the state to 90% of its emission reduction goal by 2050, he postulated.
“We need to be more eyes wide open after what we’ve seen with the Wenatchee,” he said. ”We want to see cleaner air, but we can’t write a blank check.”
The cost-benefit of converting the jumbo ferry came up late in Tuesday’s work session
State ferry officials estimated $96 million of the $133 million total could be viewed as directly related to changing the vessel to a hybrid-electric. Though the amount would be less when factoring in savings from buying less diesel fuel when operating on battery power, they said.
Rep. Adam Bernbaum, D-Port Angeles, vice chair of the transportation committee, wanted to know what amount of greenhouse gas emission reduction would be achieved. State ferry officials didn’t have an immediate answer.
“From a cost perspective, is this an efficient or good use of the state’s money? To me, it seems pretty expensive,” he said. “I would hope that there would be quite significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions if we’re going to continue down this path.”
Executive orders issued by former Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee in 2018 and 2020 are steering Washington State Ferries’ transition to an emission-free fleet. There’s also a separate state law requiring state agencies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 70% by 2040 and to be at net zero a decade later.
In 2020, the ferry agency published its System Electrification Plan. It carried an estimated cost of $4 billion, but that figure is “outdated,” David Sowers, who oversees the electrification program, told House members. “It doesn’t reflect the current bidding climate,” and other costs like tariffs, he said. So far, the agency has secured $1.68 billion.
After the meeting, Bernbaum said his questions regarding the conversion were to better understand “what we are actually paying for” in the push to carry out the electrification program.
If the goal is protecting the planet from the effects of climate change, and there is $80 million to spend, is it better spent on converting one ferry or on a utility-scale solar or wind farm?” he said.
“We should be aspiring to get to net zero. But we should be spending those dollars in a wise way and that means not being absolutist,” he said. “I think we’re in a nice reflection point when we’re starting to get the data back and it gives us an opportunity to reflect and think about if this is the best path forward.”