Published 8:30 am Thursday, November 9, 2023
The energy company applying to build the Horse Heaven wind and solar project in southeast Washington says the turbines and solar panels on the panoramic rolling hills near the Tri-Cities would be “aesthetically attractive.”
The Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council released Wednesday a revised application from Scout Clean Energy that seeks to address concerns about the project, including that it would mar the landscape.
Scout has reduced the project’s maximum number of turbines to 231 from 244 and moved solar panels to make them less visible from Highway 82. The company promised a “clean-looking facility.”
“The turbines and solar arrays will be uniform in design to present a trim, uncluttered, aesthetically attractive appearance,” according to Scout.
The changes are inadequate, said attorney Richard Aramburu, representing Tri-Cities C.A.R.E.S., a citizens group opposed to the project. “In short, they haven’t done enough. It’s a lot of window dressing,” he said.
Scout, based in Boulder, Colo., has proposed what would be the state’s largest renewable energy project. An EFSEC staff report found the project would dominate the landscape, harm tribal culture and imperil hang gliders and paragliders.
The council’s voting members, mostly drawn from the Inslee administration, was to review the report Nov. 15. The council makes recommendation to Gov. Jay Inslee on whether to permit energy projects.
Washington law requires the state to balance developing clean energy with broader public interests, including enhancing the aesthetic enjoyment of the land.
Turbines would stretch for approximately 25 miles, with blade tips extending 499 feet into the air. Under an alternative plan, Scout would put up fewer turbines, 147, but with blades reaching 657 feet into the air.
To reduce visual impacts, the EFSEC report recommended that turbines have no advertising and be kept clean. The measures would “incrementally lessen visual contrast,” but not reduce “impact magnitude.”
“It’s not just a few guys sitting around the swimming pool looking at the wind turbines, it’s a regional impact,” Aramburu said.
Scout, based in Bolder, Colo., is owned by Brookfield Asset Management. Brookfield manages approximately $750 billion in assets globally, according to the application.
The project would help the state’s electricity be carbon neutral, according to Scout. Besides utilities, companies such as Nike, Google and Facebook are in the market for renewable energy, Scout stated.
Benton County and the Yakama Nation have joined Tri-Cities C.A.R.E.S. in opposing the project. Scout said in a press release that it responded to concerns by making substantial changes to the proposal.
Scout would hire an archeologist to brief workers on stopping work if they uncovered tribal resources, including burial grounds, according to the revised application.
Scout proposes to lease 877 square miles for the project. Some 85 square miles would be permanently disturbed. Farming, mostly wheat production, could continue elsewhere in the area.
The work would include driving some 325,000 steel posts 8 to 15 feet into the ground to support solar panels. The posts would stick up 6 feet above the ground.
The posts would be removed and the land restored to agriculture once the life of the project ended, according to the application.
EFSEC was not scheduled to take action on the application during the Nov. 15 meeting and has set another meeting for Nov. 29 to discuss the project. EFSEC meetings can be viewed online at tvw.org.
