Aurora Solar is planning for development of a second solar farm in the Bickleton area of Klickitat County.
According to an application submitted through the Klickitat County Planning Department, the subsidiary of Portland-based energy company Avangrid Renewables is proposing the construction of a 100-megawatt solar energy facility, titled Bluebird Solar Project, within the county’s Energy Overlay Zone (EOZ).
Klickitat County Planning Director Mo-chi Lindblad emphasized that the application, obtained by Columbia Gorge News, has not yet been reviewed or deemed complete by the planning department, but said she has “all the info I need to start the review process.”
Aurora Solar obtained land leases with private landowners and Washington Department of Natural Resources on a 1,728-acre tract of land between Bickleton and Roosevelt, according to the application. A portion of the leased land overlaps with the Big Horn Wind Facility, owned by another Avangrid subsidiary. According to the application, current use of the land includes agriculture, rangeland, undeveloped open space, and wind energy facilities.
The application reveals that the company is planning for use of 1,638 acres of the land to install an array of solar panels, inverters, a collector substation, access roads, and a transmission line connecting the substation to an existing line at the Big Horn Wind Facility. The company plans to review whether the project site would require installation of a maintenance building or if they could use an existing structure on the Big Horn Wind Facility site, according to the application.
Through connection of the transmission line between the proposed energy facility and an adjacent existing wind facility, the project would supply its output to the larger energy grid through a Bonneville Power Administration-owned switchyard near the project area, the applicants note.
According to the application, 12 homeowners live within three miles of the proposed project, including one a mile away from the project site.
Because of the proposed project site’s location within the county’s EOZ, the applicant would be required to either provide information required in an expanded checklist or undergo an environmental impact statement, such as site-specific studies for impacts relating to habitat and wildlife, roads, cultural resources, and grading and stormwater management.
A SEPA (State Environmental Policy Act) checklist would also be required under state law.
The county planning director would be responsible for approval or denial of the EOZ application, under county code, and has the authority to apply conditions of approval of the project, such as implementing environmental mitigating tasks for the developers to follow.
The proposed project, should it be granted approval through the county planning department, would be the second solar facility sited in Klickitat County. The first, Lund Hill Solar Project, is also owned by Aurora Solar and sited nearby. Lund Hill Solar Project, once construction is completed, is slated to generate up to 150-megawatts of electricity — at the time of approval, it was the largest solar energy installation in the state by a magnitude of more than five.
Although the EOZ code does not spell it out, based on work done before approval of Lund Hill Solar Project, planning officials could request public comment on the project. Lund Hill Solar Project received comment from federal, state and county agencies, homeowners, and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation before its approval was announced in September 2019.
Based on the comments received, Lund Hill Solar Project received 63 separate conditions of approval, such as requiring the company to prepare and implement a process for protection and for unanticipated discovery of cultural resources, as well as traffic and environmental mitigating directives.
A community meeting on the proposed project was held earlier this month at Bickleton Grange Hall, and another is planned for the near future.
Avangrid Renewables Communications Manager Morgan Pitts said the company appreciated the opportunity to provide information to the community.
“We have a long history in Klickitat County, beginning with our Big Horn Wind Farm in 2006 and continuing through to the Lund Hill Solar project, currently under construction,” Pitts said. “Bluebird is an excellent site with a good solar resource and proximity to existing necessary infrastructure. We appreciate the strong partnerships we have built with members of the community through the years and look forward to making this project a success.”
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