Second bill filed to limit Washington governor’s authority to approve new wind & solar projects 

A second bill has been filed that is intended to reduce the governor’s authority to approve new wind and solar energy projects across Washington.

Rep. Mary Dye, R-Pomeroy, has filed a bill that would require county and tribal approval of recommendations to allow clean energy projects made by the Washington Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council.

House Bill 1188 would not allow the Washington governor to approve recommendations if county commissioners for affected counties or tribes do not support it.

If approved by the Legislature and new Gov. Bob Ferguson, the bill would take effect immediately.

It is set to come before the House Committee on Environment and Energy at 1:30 p.m. Monday, with an opportunity for the public to comment.

Links to provide written comments or to comment remotely or in person Monday are posted on the bill page at bit.ly/4g4CCLG.

In addition to Dye’s bill, Sen. Matt Boehnke, R-Kennewick, has filed Senate Bill 5015 to limit the governor’s authority by giving the final say for new energy projects to the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council. Now, the council makes a recommendation to the governor, who has the final say on approving or denying the project.

Bills filed after Horse Heaven approval

The two bills were prompted by the process that ended with the approval last year of the proposed Horse Heaven Clean Energy Center by outgoing Gov. Jay Inslee.

Scout Clean Energy proposed a wind farm that would stretch for 24 miles along the southern skyline of the Tri-Cities area, and turbines would be seen along the Horse Heaven Hills from most of the Tri-Cities.

The developer’s proposal included 222 turbines about 500 feet tall or 147 turbines about 670 feet tall, plus solar arrays and battery energy storage.

The Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council studied the project for three years and then recommended to the governor that he approve a smaller project.

The council recommended only half of the turbines proposed by developer Scout Clean Energy after considering endangered ferruginous hawks, Yakama Nation traditional cultural properties, the impacts of turbines on fighting wildfires and the visual impacts of the turbines on the greater Tri-Cities area.

Inslee returned the recommendation to the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, saying it needed to prioritize clean energy generation and allow more turbines.

The council eventually recommended a plan with restrictions that could affect 50 of the 222 shorter turbines or 34 of the taller ones, with Scout needing to eliminate that many turbines or find other places for them within the project boundaries. Inslee approved the adjustment.

No decision has yet been made public on which turbine height Scout Clean Energy plans to use.

As approved, the project would be one of the two largest of its kind in Washington.

Approval of the project is being challenged in court by the nonprofit Tri-Cities CARES, Benton County and the Yakama Nation.

Boehnke said in a statement that his bill would confirm that the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council is in a better position than the governor to make final decisions after it has reviewed projects and taken comments from people with different opinions.

“Removing the governor from the final approval process would have the added benefits of depoliticizing the process and help make this process more efficient and effective,” Boehnke said.

The Senate bill, if approved by the Legislature and signed into law by Ferguson, would not be retroactive.

A hearing has not yet been scheduled on the Senate bill.