Kittitas County staff seek board OK to include small modular reactors and geothermal in countywide clean-energy siting review
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Summary
County staff told the board a new grant will fund a programmatic EIS to map potential clean-energy sites across Kittitas County and asked permission to expand the review to include small modular nuclear reactors and geothermal alongside wind, solar and battery storage; scoping is targeted to be complete by June 2027.
KITTITAS COUNTY — CBS Director Chadiola told the board on May 9 that Kittitas County has secured a grant to fund a countywide programmatic Environmental Impact Statement to identify sites that could be viable for clean-energy development.
"We successfully received a grant approval for clean energy site permitting project," Chadiola said, describing the grant’s aim to assess environmental impacts, mitigation procedures and suitable locations across the county. He said the consultants’ contract currently covers wind, battery storage and solar but asked the board to consider adding small modular nuclear reactors and geothermal to the formal review.
Chadiola described geothermal as a logical fit given related work under way and training partnerships already being pursued with local partners. "We would like to recommend to the board to consider also moving forward with the small modular nuclear system and the geothermal," he said, while acknowledging the county might not ultimately be able to host every technology.
Board members asked practical siting questions, including whether projects would need proximity to substations or major transmission lines and whether specific exits or corridors would be preferred. Chadiola said those technical siting constraints — and environmental issues such as cultural resources — will guide which technologies are feasible in particular locations. He cautioned that mechanical or pumped-storage options could face early challenges because of cultural-resource sensitivity and pending or proposed legislation that might affect review.
Chadiola also said staff will coordinate with Commerce and other stakeholders and return to the board in a few weeks with alignment. He set a target to complete scoping by June 2027.
On planning and community engagement, Chadiola reported the item is scheduled for the planning commission on March 17, the comment period closed March 2, and staff received 12 comments from groups and residents including FutureWise, Puget Sound Energy, Friends of Easton, KRD and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The board did not take formal action at the session; staff requested direction to include the additional technologies in the scoping process and will report back with more detailed recommendations and site-evaluation criteria.
Next steps: staff will refine the scope with consultants, check alignment with identified stakeholders and agencies, and return to the board with a proposed scoping plan and schedule.