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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 south/southeast into the west‑central county and that several mapped constraints overlap in the southwestern channel scablands and near Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge.
Planners noted a 15‑mile buffer around Fairchild Air Force Base that county staff have coordinated with Fairchild; the buffer reflects air‑safety concerns and Fairchild's work with the governor's office to make similar buffers standard around military airfields in Washington. "That's very simply the air force mission," staff said, describing climb‑out needs for heavy military aircraft.
Staff emphasized subsurface concerns: turbine foundations require large excavations and mass that, in some mapped areas, could interact with groundwater or aquifer features; planners warned that deep foundations and construction roads could reduce productive agricultural acres and could, in some settings, risk aquifer disturbance. Staff estimated each turbine ultimately removes roughly an acre from production (not including construction and access roads), meaning a 50–100 tower array could take well over 100 acres out of production.
Legal and environmental context was raised: planners cited a recent legal trajectory in which King County ordinance changes for tasting rooms/winery-related activities were challenged before the Growth Management Hearings Board and ultimately reviewed by the Washington Supreme Court; staff said that ruling underscores the need for thorough SEPA analysis and careful demonstration that siting energy facilities will not degrade agricultural viability.
Outcome and next steps: planners said the composite mapping shows only about six sections in the southeast corner of the county that are comparatively free of the mapped constraints; even those areas must demonstrate they will not significantly degrade agricultural production to comply with GMA and related EIS/SEPA review. No proposals, leases or formal approvals were made at the open house.
Ending: Staff presented the wind screening as preliminary and emphasized that any future proposals would require detailed environmental review, permitting, and likely coordination with state and federal agencies including the Air Force for airspace and safety concerns.
