OLYMPIA — A clash in sunny Central Washington between a county and a state body has inspired legislation to let county officials decide whether solar panels will cover farmland.

Senate Bill 5206 would bar the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council from approving solar energy projects on agricultural land. The council OK’d one in 2018 over the objection of Kittitas County.

The site council bowled over county commissioners and residents, said Moses Lake Republican Judy Warnick, who introduced the bill.

“I’m not trying to stop solar development. I’m not trying to stop farmers from doing what they need to do with their property,” she said. “What I’m opposed to is taking away the local authority to help site (solar projects).”

Most solar projects go through counties, but the site council can expedite renewable energy projects if it determines the project won’t cause significant environmental damage or violate county land-use laws.

Kittitas County adopted a moratorium on solar projects on agriculture land in 2017. The site council sidestepped the moratorium and endorsed the 235-acre Columbia Solar project. Gov. Jay Inslee gave final approval.

The site council found the solar panels weren’t an environmental problem. The land was “already disturbed.” In other words, it was farmland. Most of the land was zoned for commercial agriculture, but the site council found no conflict with land-use laws. 

The project is the only solar energy facility approved by the site council. The council received an application Jan. 19 for a solar project in Yakima County on land zoned for agriculture.

The applicant, OER WA Solar 1, proposes to lease land that is being used for winter pasture or enrolled in a program that pays landowners to take environmentally sensitive farmland out of production.

Warnick said she expects there will be more proposals to build solar panels on farmland.

“I think we need to allow county commissioners and residents of counties to weigh in more than they were allowed to in Kittitas County,” she said.

The Senate Environment, Energy and Technology held a hearing Wednesday on Warnick’s bill.

The energy siting council’s chairwoman, Kathleen Drew, said the bill was too restrictive. The council’s expedited approval of renewable energy supports the state’s goal of having all-green energy, she said.

Renewable Northwest, an advocacy organization, also opposed the bill. “The need for renewable energy in Washington to meet the state’s nation leading clean-energy standard is significant,” lobbyist Jeff Gombosky said.

The legislation was endorsed by Kittitas County Commissioner Laura Osiadacz. “This bill is incredibly important for our state and the preservation of rural character,” she said.

The Washington Farm Bureau also supported the bill.

“We have Farm Bureau members who would entertain siting a solar farm on their land under the right circumstances, but the bottom line for us is the need for a comprehensive review of local concerns and an expedited permit process does not provide that,” director of government relations Tom Davis said.