Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Solar Siting topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Consultant: Proposed setbacks cut solar-eligible acreage to about 11,600 acres in Whitman County
Summary
A Kimley Horn desktop mapping exercise found about 11,623 acres remain eligible for utility/community solar under draft setback rules, down from a prior estimate near 19,600 acres; staff said site-level reviews and additional constraints would shrink the figure further.
A consultant presented a countywide feasibility map showing the combination of proposed setbacks would reduce eligible solar and battery energy storage siting to roughly 11,623 acres, down from an earlier estimate near 19,600 acres.
"The new eligible parcel area is 11,623 acres, with all of these items that are layered on top of it," said Rachel Granrath of Kimley Horn, who led the mapping demonstration. Granrath cautioned the exercise was illustrative and omitted site-level constraints such as critical areas, parcel-size viability, cultural resources and elevation/shade, any of which would likely further reduce available acreage.
Commissioners focused questions on the mapping layers that most limited siting — notably the 2-mile proximity to transmission lines and a 1,500-foot buffer from non-participating structures — and on how measuring setbacks from property lines rather than buildings would make the rules more restrictive. "That 2-mile within a transmission line ... is the biggest limiting factor I see on this map," said Commissioner Weston Kane. Grace Di Biase, assistant planner, said the mapping had measured from buildings; the draft code on page 6 currently reads from property lines, which would be more restrictive if adopted as written.
The presentation was framed as a desktop, countywide visualization to inform draft code choices; staff and the commission agreed that any final siting decision would still rely on a conditional use permit (CUP) and SEPA review at the project level.
