BENTON COUNTY, Wash. – The Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council held a meeting on Aug. 29, 2024, to go over the changes to the Horse Heaven Clean Energy Center plan that might reduce the number of turbines in the project.
Governor Jay Inslee provided feedback for the council to review, saying that mitigation measures should be more specific to concerns about the clean energy center.
The project’s website says the center is estimated to have up to 244 possible turbines. According to the meeting, around 36 turbines might be removed or displaced because of the four new revisions, but that number can still change.
EFSEC will vote next week on a recommendation to be sent to Governor Inslee on whether he should allow the project or not. no official date has been set.
The clean energy center was proposed to be built by Scout Clean Energy in May 2021, between Prosser and Benton City near US 12.
The changes address habitat mitigation, wildlife issues, tribal resources and aerial firefighter access.
Habitat One Mitigation requires the project to have ways for wildlife to get around the construction with as little disruption as possible.
“The goal is to reduce project impacts as much as practical for barriers to wildlife movement,” Environmental Planner Sean Greene said at the meeting. “And that can include requirements to install specific components that would allow for easier wildlife movements, such as larger culverts or potentially bridges or road crossings”
Species Five is specific to protecting ferruginous hawk nests. EFSEC says 56 nests have been found so far which could limit where turbines can be built.
According to the EFSEC, the original plan was to restrict building turbines within two miles of historic or current nests, but now are restricting turbines within .6 miles. It’s up to the evaluation council to make the final decision on allowing individual turbines within that zone.
Cultural Resource Three prevents turbines from being built within one mile of Webber Canyon, southeast of Benton City, to mitigate the impact on Yakima nation lands.
“I recognize that the Yakima nation has communicated that the project overall will substantially impact the Yakima nation’s traditional cultural properties,” EFSEC Chair Kathleen Drew said at the meeting. “I still wanted to ensure that there was a specific mitigation prohibiting turbines on the physical property of the least property boundary.
Public Health and Safety Two works to improve the ability of aerial firefighting efforts in the area. It now restricts turbines within a quarter mile of wildfires in the last 24 years to allow more space for aerial firefighting. This could impact several turbines proposed in the Benton City area.
