Governor of Washington approves large-scale wind farm and calls for quick turbine authorizations

OLYMPIA, Washington — Governor Jay Inslee of Washington has authorized an updated plan for a large-scale wind farm project after previously dismissing a significantly reduced version earlier this year.

Inslee has urged permitting authorities to expedite the process, aiming to facilitate the erection of as many turbines for the Horse Heaven Wind Farm as possible. According to The Seattle Times, he expressed that if the permitting process extends for years, Washington state would struggle to satisfy its “urgent clean energy needs.”

The original $1.7 billion proposal included the installation of up to 222 wind turbines spread over 24 miles (approximately 38.6 kilometers) of hills in the Tri-Cities region of eastern Washington. Additionally, it also incorporated three solar farms covering around 8.5 square miles (22 square kilometers).

However, due to the discovery of nests belonging to the endangered ferruginous hawk within the area, Washington’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council recommended reducing the project scope by half. This suggestion included creating a 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) buffer zone around each nest.

While most of the hawk nests were vacated, the species has the potential to return to them after several years.

In May, Inslee rejected the council’s proposal to scale down the project, leading the group to propose a compromise that would assess turbines and nests individually. Under the newly adopted plan approved on October 18, a technical advisory group will evaluate whether to lessen the setback distance for specific nests to 1 kilometer (0.6 mile).

This modification could enable Scout Clean Energy, based in Boulder, Colorado, to move forward with the construction of all but 30 of the originally planned turbines.

As a Democrat, Inslee has aimed to position climate initiatives as a central component of his legacy. After serving three terms in office, he has announced that he will not seek reelection.

The wind farm initiative has sparked contention between local residents and the increasing demand for renewable energy within the state, a debate that has been ongoing since the project’s initial proposal in 2021. In correspondence with the site evaluation council, Inslee pointed out that Washington’s energy requirements could nearly double by the year 2050.