Kittitas power project gets second wind

Declaring state authority trumps local objections, the Washington Supreme Court has given the go-ahead to a controversial Kittitas County wind farm.

The unanimous decision ends a six-year battle over plans for a $200 million wind farm with 65 turbines on the ridges flanking U.S. Highway 97, about 12 miles northwest of Ellensburg.

The court’s ruling upheld the project’s approval by Gov. Chris Gregoire, who overruled the Kittitas County Commission and based her decision on recommendations from the state Energy Facilities Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC).

It is the first time EFSEC, created from several state agencies in 1970 to provide “one-stop” licensing for large energy projects, has used its authority to overrule local jurisdictions on facility siting. The council coordinates the evaluation and licensing steps for major energy projects, such as pipelines and power plants, and makes recommendations to the governor’s office.

Residents objected to the project, saying the turbines would ruin views of the Cascade Mountain foothills and accused the site evaluation council of being biased.

A Yakima attorney representing opponents said the decision shows local decision-making means little.

“I’m frustrated with these processes,” said Jamie Carmody of Yakima. “They have eliminated local decision-making and decided Olympia is better suited to make decisions for our communities than elected officials.”

The wind farm’s developer, Horizon Wind Energy, and other advocates said the decision removes uncertainty that could slow the state’s alternative energy development.

The company noted the project already had support from several government environmental agencies and nonprofit groups, including the Sierra Club and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.  

Robert Kahn, executive director of the Northwest & Intermountain Power Producers Coalition, a consortium of private power producers, called the ruling significant for the future of energy development.

“It is a happy day for those of us in the development of clean energy,” he said.

Kahn said local authorities had a chance to participate in the development of the project and its review.

“When it comes to energy policy and EFSEC, a local jurisdiction deserves a lot of say-so over it. But there are broader beneficiaries that extend beyond its boundaries,” he said. “As long as the sponsors of projects meet environmental requirements and demonstrate the project is worthy, it needs to be approved.”

But Kittitas County commissioners, who initially turned down the wind farm and led the battle to overturn Gregoire’s decision, said the state law on siting energy facilities needs to be changed.

Commission chairman Mark McClain, in an e-mail, called for reform of EFSEC.

“I find it amazing and disappointing that an unelected body can run roughshod over a community, exhibit blatant disregard for the appearance of fairness and still find support from such learned justices,” he said.

He added that the county’s decisions on three other wind farms shows local officials are “perfectly capable of making appropriate, local land-use decisions.”

Linda Schantz, of the citizen opposition group Residents Opposed to Kittitas Turbines, expressed disappointment.

“I felt we had some valid legal points and, in some cases, basic tenets of law and our rights,” said Schantz.

She described her group as a loose-knit collection of up to 350 people who fought locating the farm near them.

The high court’s decision found in favor of the state on all of the issues presented in the case. But in acknowledging the imposing form of the 400-foot wind towers, the court quoted from the literary classic “Don Quixote de La Mancha”: “They are giants: and, if thou art afraid, get thee aside and pray, whilst I engage with them in fierce and unequal combat.’”

The court ruled state law that governs wind-farm siting decisions does not violate the Growth Management Act. Further, the court said the project’s environmental impact study took enough steps to account for the visual effects of the wind farm.

Nor did EFSEC violate the appearance of fairness, the decision said. The court rejected county arguments that council chairman Jim Luce exhibited a bias in favor of state authority over siting and had improper contacts with the governor’s office and Horizon.

“And finally, we hold that substantial evidence supports EFSEC’s decision to pre-empt the county’s land use and zoning laws,” the 33-page decision concluded.

Before passing muster with the site panel and the governor, the project was reduced to 65 large turbines from 121, and developers agreed to keep them farther from homes and cabins. Project officials have said they expect to spend at least $150 million and hope it will begin producing 100 to 150 megawatts of electricity by early 2009.

Gregoire approved the project over opposition from the Kittitas County Commission, which voted unanimously in 2006 to oppose it.

The state says the governor has the authority to override a county government decision when it relates to the wider interests of the state in connection with power generation.

Horizon Wind Energy officials said they are pleased the saga is over.

Arlo Corwin, Northwest development director for Houston-based Horizon, said he couldn’t say whether the ruling sets a precedent for other sitings.

“The decision affirms that much-needed power projects that pass rigorous review will be built in this state and Washington is serious about building them,” he said.

Kittitas County already is home to Puget Sound Energy’s Wild Horse wind farm, and local officials recently approved an expansion of that project. The county also has approved another wind project from Chicago-based Invenergy Wind North America.

• David Lester can be reached at 577-7674 or dlester@yakimaherald.com.
• Reporter Leah Beth Ward contributed to this story.