December 2004 eNews Bulletin

No Decision Made on EnXco’s Wind Farm

The Kittitas County commissioners did not approve or deny the Desert Claim Wind Power Project on Tuesday, instead asking proponent EnXco USA Inc. to address shortfalls in its draft development agreement.

The commissioners will meet again Dec. 27 to decide what to do after getting a revised application back from EnXco, the Palm Springs, Calif., energy giant. The 5,200-acre, 120-turbine project is the first wind farm to make it to the permit hearing stage.

“It says ‘draft’ on it, and boy is it a draft. But I think that’s a starting place. We’ve got a place to work from,” Commissioner Max Golladay said.

Among the issues commissioners want addressed in the revised application:
• The fact the land parcels in the proposal are not adjoining, which is a requirement
• The nonspecific language about what happens when the project is no longer in use
• Unclear direction on who would be involved if changes to the agreement are needed
• The lack of clarity about who’s responsible for keeping a 1,000-foot buffer between the proposed wind towers and residences in the area.

“The project, as proposed, is not sited on adjoining properties,” Commissioner Bruce Coe said.

“Setback has to be from the project boundary. That’s a serious flaw in the document,” Commissioner Perry Huston said.

David Steeb, director of the project for EnXco, said he believes the company will be able to reach an agreement still with the county. He said revision of the development agreement would begin today.

“From what we’ve heard tonight, we believe we have a good project that meets the county’s criteria,” Steeb said. The sort of issues raised by the commissioners Tuesday are just part of the continuing process, he said.

“Reasonable people on both sides can reach a reasonable document that both parties can live with,” Steeb said.

Ed Garrett of Snohomish, a spokesman for a group opposed to the project, said he hoped some of the commissioners’ conditions would be too much for EnXco. If the company has to buy property to make its project adjoining, then maybe it will just give up, he said.

“My hopes are they’ll just decide, like we’'ve been saying all along, that the property is incompatible with wind farm development,” Garrett said.

No public comment was taken at Tuesday’s meeting, but hours of discussion have taken place since permit hearings began in October. Most have opposed the project.