A Seattle company applied to a Washington state council to build a 60-megawatt solar installation in Benton County, seeking to sidestep the county’s opposition to energy projects on farmland.

OneEnergy Renewables proposes to put the Wallula Gap solar project on about 400 acres leased from Farmland Reserve Inc. 4 miles north of the unincorporated community of Plymouth.

Farmland Reserve is owned by the Mormon church and operates in the region under the name AgriNorthwest.

OneEnergy is asking the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council to preempt Benton County’s moratorium on solar projects on land zoned for agriculture. County commissioners adopted the ordinance in 2021.

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The county formally opposes three other renewable projects being considered by EFSEC, including the massive Horse Heaven wind and solar development near the Tri-Cities.

The Wallula Gap proposal also runs afoul of county land-use laws, unless commissioners change their position, Community Development Director Greg Wendt said. “I think it would be treated the same as others,” he said.

In its application to EFSEC, OneEnergy argues farmland owners should be able to lease a portion of their land for renewable energy. The steady income will support remaining agricultural activities, according to OneEnergy.

Farmland Reserve has owned the land for 53 years, but does not grow crops on the ground it plans to lease, according to a letter sent to EFSEC from Farmland Reserve Vice President for Land Scott Baird.

Farmland plans to transfer water rights attached to the land to more productive ground, according to Baird. “We have found the soil in this specific location a poor candidate for potato and onion cultivation,” the letter reads.

Wallula Gap would hook up to Benton County PUD and Bonneville Power Administration lines. Solar projects must be near transmission lines to be economical, according to OneEnergy.

Goose Prairie sold

EFSEC recommends energy projects to Gov. Jay Inslee. The governor gave OneEnergy permission in 2021 to build the Goose Prairie solar project in Yakima County.

OneEnergy sold the Goose Prairie project to Brookfield Renewable Partners, the Canadian company behind the Horse Heaven proposal. Efforts to obtain further comment Thursday from OneEnergy were unsuccessful.

Benton County also opposes the Wautoma solar project proposed by Innergex Renewable Energy of Quebec and the Hop Hill solar project proposed by BrightNight, a multi-national company, and Cordelio Power of Toronto.

EFSEC has yet to issue recommendations on the Horse Heaven, Wautoma and Hop Hill projects.

International energy companies have been drawn to Eastern Washington by the Clean Energy Transformation Act, a law passed by state Democrats in 2019 requiring electric utilities to buy renewable energy.

Wind and solar projects will fight climate change and stabilize farm incomes, supporters say. The projects mar view, weaken farm-based economies, imperil wildlife and disrupt tribal practices, detractors say.