Wind turbines near Ellensburg, Washington. (Heidi Ihnen/Getty Images)
I served 10 years as chair of the state’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, or EFSEC. I enjoyed it. But I made mistakes.
My biggest was supporting state preemption of local governments. At the time, it made sense. In 2001, amid the state’s energy crisis, EFSEC rejected a 250-megawatt gas facility located in Sumas, Washington.
There was pushback from the state level. The EFSEC chair resigned, and then-Gov. Gary Locke appointed me. On reconsideration, EFSEC approved the project. And that should have been enough. But the Legislature overreacted and amended EFSEC law to preempt local government.
As Governor Locke’s appointee, I supported preemption. But as recently shown in the Horse Heaven wind and solar project, it went too far.
The “preemption process” scales are developer-weighted. It allows developers to play local government against the state. If the developer and local government can’t agree, the developer goes to EFSEC, where the governor decides. And preemption starts the “political process.”
All EFSEC members are appointed by the governor or departments he oversees. EFSEC’s role is to follow the governor’s policy and act independently in evaluating each project. Most projects are approved but “with conditions.”
Developers know this and want favorable conditions. The developer reads the governor’s energy policy. Developers offer conditions they want. With renewable resources as a governor’s legacy, opponents are significantly disadvantaged.
EFSEC took more than three years to consider the Horse Heaven project. Combined, wind and solar, the developer said it would produce 1,150 megawatts: But only when the wind blows or the sun shines.
Benton County, the Yakama Nation, local citizens and environmental groups objected. The project would cover 10 square miles, encroach on ferruginous hawk habitat, and impact important Yakama Nation cultural sites. By comparison, Everett, Washington is 33 square miles.
The upshot: Gov. Jay Inslee rejected EFSEC’s recommendation and urged the Council to approve the developer’s proposal. This happened only once in EFSEC’s history and on a minor matter.
Inslee and The Seattle Times said the environment must give way for renewable resources. They demeaned opponents as “Not in My Backyard” naysayers looking out for themselves.
The Horse Heaven project shows that the governor is Washington’s “energy czar”. For renewables, this means building projects in eastern Washington’s shrub-steppe habitat and agricultural lands. And as former U.S. Sen. Warren Magnuson said, “From the top of the Space needle I can see all the votes I need”
A different governor who favored nuclear or gas has the same unilateral power.
Political influence and energy go together. But there are options to protect local communities. A 2024 study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that 37 states give local authorities the jurisdiction to set siting standards, such as how much land a project can occupy, where it can be built, and wind turbine heights and noise. Washington, by comparison, grants none of that power to locals.