(The Center Square) – The expected decision on a massive windmill farm near the Tri-Cities did not happen Thursday.
One of the seven people allowed to vote as part of Washington state’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, or EFSEC , was unable to attend the meeting and the chair announced the council would not be taking a final vote.
“Even though we were expecting to have all our members here, one member was unexpectedly unavailable at the last minute,” announced EFSEC Chair Kathleen Drew. “So, in order to give her an opportunity, we will be having a short meeting next week in order to give all members a chance to vote.”
The council 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 south of Kennewick.
The massive wind turbine project has been studied for three years, with community groups and the Yakama Nation suing to scale the project way back from initial plans, which call for up to 222 turbines about 500 feet tall or 141 turbines about 670 feet tall, plus solar arrays and battery storage.
The Horse Heaven Hills Wind Farm was proposed by Scout Clean Energy, which was then purchased by a Canadian investment firm.
Back in April, EFSEC voted to approve the project but with about half as many wind turbines as had been proposed.
The scaled back project would, according to EFSEC and other community groups and state agency officials, protect endangered ferruginous hawks, Native American traditional cultural property and the beauty of the landscape.
Inslee then went back to EFSEC, arguing the mitigation measures should be tailored to “appropriately prioritize the state’s pressing clean energy needs.”
“When you’re talking about this many turbines, I think the elephant in the room is the fact that we’re not looking clear eyed at what the environmental impacts will be for a project of this scope and size, Rep. Mary Dye, R-Pomeroy told The Center Square following Thursday's meeting.
Dye said firefighting could be significantly impacted by the massive turbines, as evidenced by testimony during the meeting from Lenny Young, a Department of Natural Resources member who sits on the council.
Young said helicopters and smaller planes only need a quarter-mile buffer, but that’s not the case for larger aircraft like “the VLAT’s or very large aerial tankers" that are often used in major fires and need a lot more space.
Dye explained DNR officials went to lawmakers with their concerns, but were rebuffed.
“DNR placed a request before the Legislature that the design consider specifically how you are going to fight fire with aviation assets,” she said. “The Legislature bristled at having to change a clean energy project in order to accommodate aviation assets.”
Just over 100,000 residents of Benton County live within six miles of a turbine under the proposal, according to Tri-Cities CARES, a group opposing the wind farm.
“The community has fought with every resource they could,” said Dye. “But when you’re going up against a multi-billion-dollar company and a government that already put into statute that they’re going to expedite as much wind and solar as humanly possible as quickly as possible, you’re really going into a David and Goliath story.”
A date has not yet been set for next week’s EFSEC meeting for a final vote.
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