Still no decision on WA’s largest wind farm project near Tri-Cities. What happened?

KENNEWICK – The expected decision on restrictions for a massive wind energy farm near the Tri-Cities was put on hold Thursday afternoon.

One of the seven people allowed to vote as part of Washington state’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council was unable to attend the meeting. Despite having a quorum, the council delayed its ruling until next week.

The council known as EFSEC is voting on a recommendation to Gov. Jay Inslee on whether he should allow the project along a 24-mile stretch of the Horse Heaven Hills just south of Kennewick and whether most of the turbines should be allowed.

Inslee has the final say.

EFSEC spent three years studying the project and hearing public comment before recommending to Inslee in April that Scout Clean Energy be allowed to build the Horse Heaven Clean Energy Center, but with about half as many wind turbines as it had proposed.

The restrictions on the number of turbines were proposed to protect endangered ferruginous hawks, Native American traditional cultural property and the skyline view from much of the Tri-Cities.

But Inslee sent the recommendation back to the council, saying the mitigation measures should be more specifically tailored to concerns raised about the project rather than significantly limiting the project areas were turbines could be built.

He requested a revised approval of the project “that appropriately prioritizes the state’s pressing clean energy needs.”

The project as proposed by Scout Clean Energy, which was purchased by a Canadian investment firm, would have up to 222 turbines about 500 feet tall or 141 turbines about 670 feet tall, plus solar arrays and battery storage.

They would stretch along the Horse Heaven Hills just south of Kennewick for 24 miles from Finley to Benton City.

After EFSEC discussion, the council’s staff came up with a proposal that might impact about 36 proposed turbines, rather than about 106 previously recommended to be excluded, according to EFSEC staff.

It was not clear, however, if the more limited proposed restrictions would mean eliminating about 36 turbines or whether they could still be located elsewhere within the project boundaries.

There could also be some additional turbines impacted based on recommendations from a technical advisory committee that could consider whether some ferruginous hawk nesting sites also warranted protections.

The new proposal made changes from the original proposal sent to Inslee.

The restrictions would be revised from restricting building turbines within 2 miles of historic or current ferruginous hawk nests to restricting them within 0.6 miles.

A technical advisory committee, however, would consider whether any of the turbines in the remainder of the original 2-mile exclusion zone would still interfere with nest sites that were still viable and had adequate habitat available for the hawks. EFSEC would make the final decision on allowing individual turbines within that zone.

The 2-mile buffer area earlier recommended to the governor would have not only protected ferruginous hawks, but also would have decreased impacts to Yakama Nation cultural resources, scenic views and aerial firefighting.

No turbines could be built within one mile of Webber Canyon, southeast of Benton City.

“Webber Canyon has been identified by the Yakama Nation as an area of particular TCP (traditional cultural property) concern and prohibiting the siting of wind turbines in proximity to this area will reduce physical and visual encroachment on any TCPs associated with this geographic feature,” according to the draft recommendation.

That could impact 17 turbines, which Scout Clean Energy might move elsewhere rather than eliminate from the project, according to EFSEC.

Habitat mitigation would be required if turbines or other structures interfered with wildlife corridors. That could include bridges, road crossings and culverts.

Turbines could be restricted within a quarter mile of wildfires in the past 24 years to facilitate aerial firefighting. That could effect several turbines proposed in the Benton City area.

EFSEC Chairperson Kathleen Drew said the more limited new restrictions still would help to protect scenic views of the southern skyline seen from the Tri-Cities.

Along with the smaller Nine Canyon wind farm near the proposed Horse Heaven wind farm, just more than 100,000 residents of Benton County would live within 6 miles of a turbine under the Scout Clean Energy proposal, according to Tri-Cities CARES, a group opposing the wind farm as too close to the Tri-Cities. That’s five times more than the estimated 20,000 who live within 6 miles of a wind farm in the rest of the state.