Article
Hearing Jan. 10 looks at second county wind farm
Daily Record|Mike Johnston|January 4, 2006
A tally made in early December indicated more than 90 percent of the comments at that time were opposed to the wind farm.
A tally made in early December indicated more than 90 percent of the comments at that time were opposed to the wind farm.
The Kittitas Valley Wind Power Project, a wind farm proposed for northwest of Ellensburg, will get a hearing Jan. 10 before two Kittitas County government bodies, the county Planning Commission and the county commissioners.
The hearing will be at 6:30 p.m. at the Kittitas County Fairgrounds in the Home Arts Building.
The hearing will be at 6:30 p.m. at the Kittitas County Fairgrounds in the Home Arts Building.
The 64-turbine project is proposed by Horizon Wind Energy, a Houston-based wind power development firm. The turbines could range from 350 to 410 feet high from base to extended rotor blades.
The project is planned for ridge tops on 6,000 acres on both sides of U.S. Highway 97 about 13 miles northwest of Ellensburg. The wind farm proposal has been downsized from 121 turbines that were earlier sought by the company, formerly …
The Kittitas Valley Wind Power Project, a wind farm proposed for northwest of Ellensburg, will get a hearing Jan. 10 before two Kittitas County government bodies, the county Planning Commission and the county commissioners.
The hearing will be at 6:30 p.m. at the Kittitas County Fairgrounds in the Home Arts Building.
The hearing will be at 6:30 p.m. at the Kittitas County Fairgrounds in the Home Arts Building.
The 64-turbine project is proposed by Horizon Wind Energy, a Houston-based wind power development firm. The turbines could range from 350 to 410 feet high from base to extended rotor blades.
The project is planned for ridge tops on 6,000 acres on both sides of U.S. Highway 97 about 13 miles northwest of Ellensburg. The wind farm proposal has been downsized from 121 turbines that were earlier sought by the company, formerly known as Zilkha Renewable Energy when it first filed for the facility in January 2003.
County Planner Joanna Valencia said more than 200 comments have been received as of Tuesday. She couldn’t give a breakdown on how many of the comments were for and against the project on Tuesday, but said the majority received are negative toward the project.
A tally made in early December indicated more than 90 percent of the comments at that time were opposed to the wind farm.
Opponents are concerned the turbines will mar the landscape, reduce property values and be in conflict with surrounding land uses.
Proponents say the turbines can be planned in such a way to be compatible with residential and recreational lands, will bring jobs and tax revenue to the county and add new sources of renewable power.
At the conclusion of public testimony, county commissioners will excuse themselves from the meeting to allow the Planning Commission to deliberate on a recommendation that will go to county commissioners.
County commissioners will later receive and review the recommendation and conduct their own public hearings on the project. They will later make a decision on whether to grant the project a development permit and other approvals.
After the county’s decision, the project will then go before the state Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council in hearings set to begin March 13 in Ellensburg. The state agency requires energy-generating projects to first be declared consistent with local county government land-use rules before considering them further.
The EFSEC agency later makes a recommendation to Gov. Christine Gregoire who makes the final decision on the wind farm.