Washington governor OKs massive new wind farm and urges swift turbine approvals

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has approved a revised plan for a massive proposed wind farm after he rejected a sharply slimmed-down version earlier this year.

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.