EFSEC: Wild Horse Wind Power Project

Wild Horse Wind and Solar Power Project

The Wild Horse Wind Power Project is located in the eastern part of Kittitas County, Washington, approximately 10 miles east of the town of Kittitas (location map). The project consists of 127 turbines with maximum installed capacity of 229 MW.

The site consists of approximately 8,600 acres of open range land. The project interconnects to the Puget Sound Energy transmission system. On July 26, 2005, Governor Gregoire approved the Wild Horse Wind Power Project. Construction began mid October of 2005 and was completed in December 2006.

In March 2007 Puget Sound Energy requested authorization to add a 500 kilowatt solar demonstration facility on the Wild Horse site. In April 2007 EFSEC approved the request. Construction was started in mid 2007 and completed in 2008.

In July 2008 Puget Sound Energy requested authorization to add 26 new turbines with generating capacity of up to 54 MW on an additional 1,280 acres. In early 2009 EFSEC granted Puget's request and amended the Site Certification Agreement to include the additional turbines and acreage. Construction on the expansion began in May 2009.

In November 2009 Puget Sound Energy completed its expansion of the 26 wind turbines and installation of the final solar panels.

Puget Sound Energy's Wild Horse Wind Project web site.

Certificate Holder:	Puget Sound Energy 10885 NE 4th Street Bellevue, WA 98009 (509) 964-7813
Facility:	273 MW wind power project 500 kW solar demonstration project
Location:	Whiskey Dick Mountain, Kittitas County, Washington, approximately 13 miles east of the town of Kittitas.
Status:	Operational - 273 MW of wind power and 500 kW of solar power.

General Information

Site Certification Agreement:

The Site Certification Agreement is the state permit that lists the conditions that must be met during construction and operation of the project.

Wild Horse Site Certification Agreement Amendment No. 5, approved 1-22-09.

Attachment 1 - Site Legal Descriptions
Attachment 2 - Feeder Line Legal Descriptions
Attachment 3 - Kittitas County Settlement(1.3 MB)
Attachment 4 - Kittitas County Development Agreement( 7 MB)
   Exhibit D - Proposed SEPA
   Mitigation Measures
   Exhibit F - Decommissioning Cost
   Estimates
Attachment 5 - WDFW Settlement
Attachment 6 - Council Order No. 814
Attachment 7 - Council Order No. 815 & Resolution No. 314
Attachment 8 - Resolution No. 315
Attachment 9 - Resolution No. 319
Attachment 10 - Resolution No. 321
Attachment 11 - Resolution No. 326
Attachment 12 - Land Legal Descriptions (Amend. No. 5)
Attachment 13 - Additional SEPA Measures
Attachment 14 - Amended Development Agreement with Kittitas County

1-22-09 Resolution No. 326, approving Amendment No. 5 to the Site Certification Agreement for expansion of the project.

1-14-09 Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement A Final Supplemental EIS for the proposed expansion of the Wild Horse Wind Power Project.

12-10-08 Addendum to the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement

10-10-08 Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement

10-30-08 Amendment modification request.

7-8-08 Request for an Amendment to the Site Certification Agreement to expand the wind project.

Amendment Application
Exhibit A Conceptual Layout and Facilities
Exhibit B Legal Description of the Property
Exhibit C SEPA Environmental Checklist
Appendix A Wildlife, Habitat, and Rare Plant Studies
Appendix B Visual Quality Study

Wild Horse Site Certification Agreement Amendment No. 4, approved 4-10-07

April 2007: Resolution No. 321- Amendment No. 4 to the Wild Horse Project SCA

3-16-07 Public Meeting March 27, 2007 at 4:00 PM, in Ellensburg, WA Hearing Agenda

3-2-07 Request for an Amendment to the Site Certification Agreement Regarding Installation of Solar Demonstration Facility (pdf - 23 pages)

February 2007: Resolution No. 319 - Amendment No. 3 to the Wild Horse Project SCA

February 2006: Resolution No. 315 - Amendment No. 2 to the Wild Horse Project SCA (pdf - 6 pages)

DNS with Checklist (pdf - 1.2 MB)

1-23-06 Addendum to Final EIS (pdf - 212 KB)

2004-2005: Review of Application for Site Certification

July 26, 2005: Governor Approves Project

August 2005: Transfer of Site Certification Agreement to Puget Sound Energy;

July 26, 2005: Governor Gregoire approves Wild Horse Project

Official Notice of Governor's Decision
Draft Environmental Impact Statement 8/3/2004
Final EIS 5/16/2005

August 4, 2005: Request to Transfer the Site Certification Agreement to Puget Sound Energy

8/4/05 - Joint request by Wind Ridge Power Partners and Puget Sound Energy for transfer of Site Certification Agreement (PDF, 2 pages);
PSE Annual Report ( Exit to PSE Website)
8/10/05 EFSEC SEPA Determination of Non-Significance (PDF 2 pages), SEPA Checklist (PDF, 11 pages)
Notice of 8-30-05 Special Meeting in Ellensburg WA to consider Transfer Request - html or PDF
August 30, 2005: Council Approves Transfer of SCA to PSE; Council Order No. 815 (pdf); Notice of Council Action (pdf)

Adjudicative Proceeding:

Notices, testimony, petitions for intervention and other items.

Application Review:

Application review summary.

Recent Activity:

November 9, 2009 Expansion of wind turbines and solar modules completed - PSE Press Release

February 25, 2009 Construction Stormwater General Permit Application

February 25, 2009 Construction Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP)

January 22, 2009 Resolution No. 326, approving Amendment No. 5 to the Site Certification Agreement for expansion of the project.

January 14, 2009 Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement A Final Supplemental EIS for the proposed expansion of the Wild Horse Wind Power Project.

December 10, 2008: Addendum to the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement

November 10, 2008: Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement

A Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) has been issued for the proposed expansion of the Wild Horse Wind Power Project. Comments are due December 15, 2008.

October 30, 2008: PSE modifies fencing language in amendment request.

PSE is withdrawing its proposed language regarding fencing of mitigation area as part of its amendment request. Oct. 30,2008 letter

September 8, 2008: PSE response to public comments and modification of amendment request - Puget Sound Energy submitted responses to the public comments received during the 8-6-08 public hearing and amendment comment period. PSE also modified its amendment request by eliminating four of the proposed new turbines (from 26 to 22 new turbines) and reducing the expansion area from 1,280 to 960 acres. Sept. 8, 2008 letter

July 8, 2008: SCA Amendment Request - Puget Sound Energy filed a Request for an Amendment to the Site Certification Agreement (SCA) to expand the site by 1,280 acres and add 26 new wind turbines. EFSEC will review this request according to its rules governing amendment requests (Chapter 463-66 WAC).

Public Hearing - A public hearing was held on August 6, 2008 to receive comments on the request to amend the Wild Horse SCA (Transcript).

August 2008 Public Comment Period SCA Amendment - Expansion Request (Public Comments).

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For information or questions concerning this Project please contact:

Stephen Posner, Compliance Manager
Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council
905 Plum Street SE 3rd Floor
PO Box 43172
Olympia, WA 98504-3172
(360) 956-2063

To be added to the Wild Horse Wind Power Project mailing list, please:

contact Tammy Talburt at (360) 956-2121

or

e-mail your complete name and postal or e-mail address to efsec@commerce.wa.gov

Important Note: Public comments submitted to the Council via the internet or in writing become public records under the Washington State Public Records Act (RCW 42.17). Information included in the comment such as the commentor's e-mail and mailing address becomes a public record once it is provided to EFSEC and may be subject to public inspection and copying if not protected by federal or state law. For additional information please see our Privacy Notice.

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