August 22, 2013
Washington

Kittitas wind farm to seek approval from state, not county

Mike Johnston | Ellensburg Daily Record | www.yakimaherald.com

A proposed wind farm east of Ellensburg won’t go through Kittitas County government’s local review process but will seek approval from a state government energy council and the governor.

Doug Mitchell, the project manager for Columbia Plateau Wind Energy Facility LLC, on Monday in emailed comments said the Mill Creek firm has withdrawn its permit application from county government and is preparing a project application that will go to the state’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, based in Olympia.

The state energy generation council, or EFSEC, has the authority to recommend the governor approve the construction and operation of a wind farm project despite objections from local governments which occurred twice in past years in Kittitas County.

The county Community Development Services Department late last week informed Columbia Plateau it was pulling its application for a 58-turbine wind farm from consideration this year and putting it on a list for consideration in 2014, a process that starts July 1 next year.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/08/22/kittitas-wind-farm-to-seek-approval-from-state-not-county/