Gov. Jay Inslee has approved the Horse Heaven wind and solar installation in southeast Washington, while admonishing the council that recommended the project to speed up its reviews.

Inslee’s approval allows Colorado-based Scout Clean Energy to install up to 222 turbines and cover more than 5,000 acres of farmland with solar panels on hills visible from the Tri-Cities.

Scout applied to the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council three years and eight months ago. In a letter announcing his decision, Inslee said the state won’t meet its “urgent clean energy needs” if reviews take years.

“Timely and efficient action by the council is essential to our mission to mitigate the impacts of climate change and provide adequate green energy alternatives,” the letter reads.

Scout’s proposal encountered formal opposition from Benton County commissioners, the Yakama Nation and Tri-City CARES, a citizens group. EFSEC’s deliberations included eight days of sworn testimony.

EFSEC’s voting members, drawn from state agencies, recommended last spring limitations on placing turbines. Scout CEO Michael Rucker said the recommendation called into question the Inslee administration’s commitment to fighting climate change.

Inslee agreed with Scout and ordered EFSEC to come forward with a second recommendation to allow for more windmills. EFSEC scaled back the restrictions, though it did not entirely eliminate them.

The second recommendation passed the council on 4-3 vote.

EFSEC members who voted “no” said they wanted more hard limits on where turbines could be placed in the interests of wildlife, views and tribal culture.

In place of hard limits, EFSEC created a technical advisory committee to birddog the placing of turbines to prevent them from disturbing ferruginous hawks.

Scout complained a committee could delay or even stop the project. Rucker urged Inslee to use his ”plenary authority” to override EFSEC. No such power exists, according to the governor’s office.

In his letter approving the project, Inslee urged EFSEC to immediately form the committee and to have its work done by mid-February. Scout has yet to sign the agreement to move ahead with the project.

“As we evaluate the conditions, we will decide soon on the future of the Horse Heaven Clean Energy Center,” Rucker said in a statement.

“We want to thank Gov. Inslee for his leadership and our shared commitment to meet Washington’s clean energy goals,” he said.

It’s unclear how much energy the installation will generate. Because output will depend on the wind blowing and sun shining, the project won’t help stabilize the grid during cold, dark and windless winter morning, according to public power officials.

EFSEC released Inslee’s letter Friday, though the governor sent it Oct. 18. EFSEC held off making the letter public until Scout signed the agreement, council spokesman Karl Holappa said Monday.

The council staff posted the letter on its website after the governor’s asked office why it hadn’t been released, Holappa said.

Inslee said he hoped the advisory committee would be formed within 14 days of his Oct. 18 letter. That hope has fallen by the wayside.