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Media Contact: (360) 664-1116 or media@utc.wa.gov
Docket Numbers: EF-170823, EF-180105
MEDIA ADVISORY
EFSEC Hosts March Meeting in Ellensburg
OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Washington
Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council will hold its March meeting in
Ellensburg, where it is scheduled to discuss the proposed Columbia Solar project.
The
council may take final action on whether to grant expedited processing to the
Columbia Solar project.
Council
staff will also provide an update on the review of the requested changes to the Desert
Claim site certification agreement.
In
addition to discussion related to Kittitas County projects, the council will
take up regularly scheduled business.
A
full agenda for the meeting can be found here.
WHAT
March
EFSEC meeting
WHO
Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council
WHEN and WHERE
Tuesday,
March 20
1:30
p.m.
Kittitas
Valley Event Center
901
E. 7th Ave.
Ellensburg,
WA 98926
BACKGROUND
In
October 2017, TUUSSO Energy applied for a site certification agreement from
EFSEC to construct and operate five solar arrays and two generation tie lines
in Kittitas County, WA. Collectively the installations would span 200 acres of
leased land and are known as the Columbia Solar project. Each new solar array
would be capable of providing up to 5 megawatts of solar energy within the
Puget Sound Energy service area, for a total of 25 megawatts of electrical
power generation.
TUUSSO
Energy requested in its application an expedited review process. An application
is eligible for expedited review if EFSEC determines the environmental impacts
are not significant or can be mitigated to non-significant levels under the
State Environmental Policy Act and when a project is consistent with city,
county, or regional land-use plans.
EFSEC
released an environmental
determination of mitigated non-significance for the proposed Columbia Solar project
in February.
If
the Columbia Solar project is determined to be eligible for expedited review,
EFSEC would have 180 days from the time of application submission to make a
recommendation to the governor.
The
Desert Claim Wind
Power project
originally received a site certification agreement from EFSEC in 2010 to
construct 95 wind turbines, producing 190 megawatts, located on approximately
5,200 contiguous acres in Kittitas County.
On
February 26, Desert Claim Wind Power LLC submitted to EFSEC a request to amend its site
certification agreement to build a smaller project instead.
The
proposal calls for a maximum power capacity of 100 megawatts using 31 turbines.
EFSEC
was created by the state Legislature in 1970 to provide one-stop licensing for
large energy projects. The council's responsibilities include siting large
natural gas and oil pipelines, thermal electric power plants that are 350
megawatts or greater and their dedicated transmission lines, new oil refineries
or large expansions of existing facilities, and underground natural gas storage
fields. Alternative energy proposals can also opt into the EFSEC review
process.
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Editor’s note: More information on this proposed project can
be found at www.efsec.wa.gov.
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