County planning flags information gaps in Yellow Rose Bush solar project; special advisory group will send letter to state

Planning staff told Wasco County commissioners and the project’s special advisory group that the Yellow Rose Bush Solar Energy Project application is incomplete in key areas and that the county will forward a formal completeness review to the state.

County planners said the project has large scale attributes and will need to fill several local information gaps before the state’s siting review proceeds. “It’s called the Yellow Rose Bush Solar Energy Project. It has roughly a capacity of 800 megawatts, as long with, 800 megawatts of energy storage for batteries. The project site is roughly 8,075 acres, in total, which includes 4.5 miles of the overhead transmission lines,” Sean Bailey, senior planner, told commissioners.

Why it matters: The project would add large‑scale solar and battery storage in southeast Wasco County and connects to regional transmission infrastructure. The county’s completeness review is a critical early step in the state’s energy facility siting process; identifying missing materials now preserves the county’s ability to raise substantive land‑use and public‑safety concerns later.

What county staff found: Planning staff said the applicant must provide legal parcel documentation for seven affected properties and apply for a Goal‑5 amendment to the county comprehensive plan to add the facility to Wasco County’s list of significant energy facilities. Staff also requested more information on worker housing, construction traffic and wildfire coordination; the local fire marshal asked for a meeting with the applicant and all relevant fire districts.

The county noted an inconsistency in the project’s wildfire exhibit: the applicant’s reference listed the area as “moderate risk” while newer statewide maps classify the site as high risk. Planning staff said the applicant cited an older 2017 publication in that exhibit and requested a county clarification.

Process and schedule: County staff clarified the local completeness review is separate from the state’s intake. The Oregon Department of Energy collects stakeholder comments and forwards materials to the Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC) for the formal siting decision. Staff said a local completeness determination preserves county rights to raise issues in future substantive review.

Next step: Staff said the county’s special advisory group (SAG) will finalize and submit a letter with the completeness findings and identified stakeholder concerns to the Department of Energy; commissioners and staff agreed the matter will return to the board as the application advances.

Ending: County planners emphasized that more substantive environmental, wildlife and fire‑safety comments will follow as staff review the applicant’s fuller submittal, and they encouraged early coordination between the developer and local fire authorities.