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Spokane County staff identify limited areas suitable for utility-scale wind after mapping of winds, soils, critical areas and military buffers
Summary
Planners outlined criteria for wind-turbine suitability — including wind speed thresholds, critical-area protections, prime agricultural soils and a 15-mile Fairchild Air Force Base buffer — and said only a few sections in the southeast corner may remain unconstrained.
Spokane County planning staff presented a five‑criteria screening for where utility‑scale wind energy might be feasible in the county and said mapping of wind speeds, critical areas, prime soils and military buffers severely limits suitable locations.
Scott Chesney explained that staff used "best available science" to create five criteria: wind resource (a low viability threshold described at about 5.8 meters per second), critical environmental areas (including migratory corridors and biodiversity areas), prime agricultural soils, subsurface and groundwater risks related to deep turbine foundations, and a safety/airspace buffer tied to Fairchild Air Force Base. He said the county mapped winds that are strongest from the…
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