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Applicant urges preemption to site 470 MW Watoma solar; Benton County says loss of GMAD land is unmitigable
Summary
At an adjudicative hearing Sept. 25, 2024, the applicant asked the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council to recommend the governor preempt Benton County code so a 470 MW/4‑hour battery Watoma Solar project can be sited under an SCA with MDNS conditions; Benton County urged denial, saying roughly 2,978 acres of GMAD land would be lost and cannot be offset by proposed conditions.
The Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council heard competing arguments Sept. 25 over whether the governor should be recommended to preempt Benton County land‑use rules so the Watoma Solar Energy Project can be sited in the county.
Erin Anderson, counsel for applicant InterJAX Renewable Development USA (represented on the record by Energex staff), told the council there is “only 1 topic before the council today, and that is land use,” and urged the body to recommend preemption under the Energy Facility Site Location Act (RCW 80.50). Anderson said state policy and precedent permit preemption when local rules conflict with the state’s energy‑siting objectives and that FSEC staff’s mitigated determination of nonsignificance (MDNS) contains detailed conditions that would address local concerns if the council recommends approval with a site certification agreement (SCA).
The applicant described the project as a 470‑megawatt photovoltaic facility with a four‑hour battery energy storage system, a substation and a…
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