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Inslee urged permitting officials to work quickly to allow the
construction of as many Horse Heaven Wind Farm turbines as
possible, The Seattle Times reported. Washington state won't
meet its “urgent clean energy needs” if officials take years to
authorize the turbines, he said.
The original $1.7 billion project included up to 222 wind
turbines across 24 miles (38.6 kilometers) of hillsides in the
Tri-Cities area of eastern Washington and three solar arrays
covering up to 8.5 square miles (22 square kilometers).
But then Washington’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, a
clearinghouse for permits required by large projects,
recommended slashing the proposal in half because nests of the
endangered ferruginous hawk were found in the area. It wanted a
2-mile (3.2-kilometer) buffer around each nest.
Most nests were empty, but the hawks can return to them years
later.
In May, Inslee rejected the council's recommendation to shrink
the project, prompting the panel to suggest a compromise that
would examine turbines and nests on a case-by-case basis. Under
this plan, which Inslee formally approved Oct. 18, a technical
advisory group would recommend whether to reduce individual nest
setbacks to 1 kilometer (0.6 mile.)
This could allow the developer, Boulder, Colorado-based Scout
Clean Energy, to build all but 30 of the turbines originally
proposed.
Inslee, a Democrat, has sought to make climate initiatives key
to his legacy. He is not seeking reelection after three terms in
office.
The wind farm project has pitted local opponents against the
state’s ever-growing need for renewable energy since it was
first proposed in 2021. In a letter to the site evaluation
council, Inslee noted that Washington’s energy demands could
nearly double by 2050.
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