FSEC approves Resolution 360 and amended site certification for Carriger Solar after Yakama Nation concerns and added mitigations

The Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council voted to approve council Resolution 360 and the amended draft site certification agreement for the Carriger Solar project at a special meeting that began at 9:01 a.m. and adjourned at 9:44 a.m.

Chair Kurt Beckett opened the meeting saying the council would consider “the revised draft site certification agreement for the Carriger Solar project as well as Resolution 360,” and staff then presented changes made after a gubernatorial remand and consultation with the Yakama Nation.

Why it matters: The vote clears FSEC’s recommendation to transmit the amended site certification agreement to the governor while documenting additional mitigation steps the council says reduce effects on traditional and cultural properties and visual resources to “moderate or below magnitude.” The action follows a governor’s remand, a tribal response, and a short public comment period.

Staff summary and key mitigation Joanne Snarski, FSEC siting specialist, described the project as a 160-megawatt solar photovoltaic facility with an adjoining 63-megawatt battery storage system sited on roughly 2,108 acres of private land, with approximately 1,326 acres to include project components. She said the governor remanded FSEC’s prior recommendation on Aug. 22 and asked the council to give the Yakama Nation additional opportunity to comment on a confidential consultation summary and on five mitigation measures identified in FSEC’s mitigated determination of nonsignificance (MDNS).

Snarski said FSEC’s revised package adds substantial setbacks from State Route…