Tri Cities wind/solar project moving forward after Friday vote

(The Center Square) - Gov. Jay Inslee is largely getting what he asked for in a vote approving a large new wind and solar project in southeastern Washington.

In a meeting and final vote Friday afternoon that lasted just over 16 minutes, members of the WA Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council voted 4-3 in favor of approving a revised project recommendation to allow construction of the Horse Heaven Clean Energy Center just outside the Tri Cities.

The project run by Scout Clean Energy, a company that was recently purchased by a Canadian investment firm, may ultimately include 222 turbines about 500 feet tall or 141 turbines about 670 feet tall. There will also be solar arrays and battery storage, stretching from Horse Heaven Hills just south of Kennewick for about 24 miles from Finley to Benton City.

As previously reported by The Center Square, EFSEC spent three years studying the project before recommending to Gov. Jay Inslee in April that the project move ahead but with fewer wind turbines as it had proposed. EFSEC reduced the size of the project to protect endangered ferruginous hawks, Native American traditional lands and skyline views from much of the Tri-Cities.

Inslee pushed back on the recommendations, arguing the mitigation measures should be more specifically tailored and he requested a revised approval of the project “that appropriately prioritizes the state’s pressing clean energy needs.”

After EFSEC discussion following Inslee’s request, the council’s staff came up with a proposal that would impact about three dozen proposed turbines, and that revised project was approved Friday afternoon in a 4-3 vote with EFSEC members from the Department of Natural Resources, the Department of Fish and Wildlife and Benton County voting against the revised proposal.

“I was not able to support the original SCA (Site Certification Agreement) to the governor because I felt that the SCA did not sufficiently reduce impacts to Yakama Nation’s traditional cultural properties and my initial concern in this area is only heightened by the revision that the council just voted on,” said Lenny Young, EFSEC’s representative from the Washington Department of Natural Resources, who voted no.

Rep. Mary Dye, R-Pomeroy, told The Center Square just after the vote late Friday it was a sad day for citizen led government.

“Communities like the Tri Cities put forward in the legal process their concerns and they won in court and then it had no value,” said Dye who has been fighting the project for years. “They had no consideration for the people in the community who have been totally marginalized.”

Water rights for the project area could be an issue going forward.

That came up early in the Friday meeting with a staff member for EFSEC suggesting use of water rights in the area of the project is something that had been brought to the attention of the council, but ultimately determined “staff does not anticipate” any issues with water rights.

Dye said the water rights matter is huge.

“This is a desert in an irrigation district and there are constraints on the use of water permits,” said Dye. “It’s first in time and first in rights.”

Dye said water is the agricultural engine of the economy in the Tri Cities.

“It’s a priceless resource for economic development and they’re using this resource for construction of an industrial energy facility in an area that is prime irrigated agricultural land,” said Dye.

An email from EFSEC staff to The Center Square following the vote read in part: "The council shall resubmit the draft certification to the governor incorporating any amendments deemed necessary upon reconsideration. Within 60 days of receipt of such draft certification agreement, the governor shall either approve the application and execute the certification agreement or reject the application. The certification agreement shall be binding upon execution by the governor and the applicant."

Dye said she is already working on draft legislation to amend policies and procedures for EFSEC in hopes of avoiding an opportunity for the governor to have undue influence once the council makes its recommendations on projects in the future.