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Wasco County flags data gaps and public safety concerns in review of proposed Deschutes solar and battery project
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Summary
County planning staff identified missing data and compliance gaps in a 1,000‑MW solar and battery storage preliminary application and submitted formal Special Advisory Group comments to the Oregon Department of Energy; nearby residents testified they would be surrounded by arrays and raised fire, water and property‑value concerns.
Wasco County planning staff and the Board's Special Advisory Group (SAG) submitted formal comments to the Oregon Department of Energy after reviewing the preliminary application for the proposed Deschutes Solar and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facility.
Senior Planner Sean Bailey and Planning Director Daniel Dougherty told commissioners the project application lacks several required analyses and maps, including adequate setback diagrams for adjacent grazing and crop lands and clear plans for the scale and siting of the battery storage system. Staff said the applicant proposed 50‑foot setbacks where county standards typically require 100 to 200 feet around certain agricultural uses, and that visibility modeling provided by the applicant conflicted with county GIS output that shows the facility would be visible from more than 10,000 acres along Highway 216.
Dougherty flagged a key water‑supply discrepancy: the applicant estimated lifetime water use of between 20 million and 54 million gallons and referred to a "service commitment" from the county for Columbia River water, which Dougherty said does not exist beyond an informal email. "The applicant claimed a 'service commitment' from Wasco County for water rights from the Columbia River; however, Mr. Dougherty clarified that no such commitment exists beyond an informal email," the transcript records.
County staff also recommended road‑use agreements and construction maintenance bonds after Public Works expressed concern about heavy construction traffic. The Wasco County Sheriff's Office noted demand on enforcement and traffic management during construction; the Juniper Flat Rural Fire Protection District requested formal, enforceable fire‑safety conditions for BESS facilities.
At the SAG presentation and subsequent public comment period, multiple nearby landowners described the proposal as effectively surrounding nonparticipating parcels with industrial infrastructure. Connie Lee, an adjacent landowner who said her property would be a ‘‘donut hole’’ surrounded by the project, testified the development would be devastating to property values and livability and criticized the appearance of perimeter security: "The visual impact of 8‑foot chain‑link fences is 'living in a prison yard,'" she told commissioners. Ranchers described safety and evacuation concerns for livestock and people if heavy fencing and tight setbacks impeded wildfire evacuation or firefighting access.
The county's formal comments were submitted to ODOE in advance of the March 6 completeness deadline in order to preserve Wasco County's standing as an advisory agency. County staff recommended that outstanding mapping, setback, water‑supply, farm‑impact and fire‑safety issues be resolved and made formal conditions of approval if the project proceeds.