Project information

Carriger Solar, LLC (Applicant), a wholly owned subsidiary of Cypress Creek Renewables, LLC, proposes to construct and operate the Carriger Solar Project (Project) located in unincorporated Klickitat County approximately 2 miles northwest of the City of Goldendale. The Project is a proposed solar photovoltaic (PV) electric generating facility with a capacity of 160 megawatts (MW) of alternating current (AC) solar energy and 63 MW of battery energy storage.

The Project is generally located north of State Route (SR) 142 and along Knight Road, Fairgrounds Road West, Mesecher road West, Fish Hatchery Road, Butts Road, and Pine Forest Road approximately 2 miles west/northwest of the city of Goldendale in Klickitat County.

The Project Site Control Boundary contains 2,108-acres and is comprised of two non-contiguous areas across 25 privately owned parcels. Within the Project Site Control Boundary, a smaller 2,011-acre Project Study Area is defined for biological, cultural, and physical resource surveys and includes the portions of the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) Right-of-Way (ROW) subject to agreement with BPA and Knight Road ROW subject to franchise agreement with Benton County. Within the Project Study Area, a smaller area of 1,323-acres will be permanently or temporarily disturbed by Project construction and is referred to as the Maximum Project Extent (MPE). This area (1,323-acres) contains the Project footprint associated with the solar array areas, Project substation, Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facilities, collector lines, interconnection equipment, Operations and Maintenance (O&M) building and employee parking, laydown area, access roads, and fencing. The MPE also includes additional construction areas to allow for the shifting of project components, known as micro-siting, based on a final approved project design.

Lands in the Project Study Area have historically been utilized for agricultural activities such as crop cultivation and livestock grazing. The Project is located primarily within the Klickitat County Extensive Agriculture (EA) District with two assessor parcels (totaling approximately 180-acre) and a portion of the Knight Road ROW being located within the Klickitat County General Rural (GR) District. The southern portion of the Project Study Area is located within the Klickitat County Energy Overlay Zone (EOZ). Existing land uses in the Project Study Area predominately include crop cultivation (mostly dryland wheat) and pasturelands with some scattered rural residences (owned by Project participant landowners), undeveloped areas, local roads, and electrical infrastructure (e.g., transmission and distribution lines). Adjacent land uses surrounding the Project Study Area are similar and include scattered rural residences owned both by Project participants and non-Project participants, the Goldendale Fish Hatchery and adjacent Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) owned lands, SR 142, and the BPA Knight Substation.

Construction of the Project is anticipated to take up to 15 months and is anticipated to begin during the first quarter of 2024.

Please visit the certification process webpage to learn more about how the application process works.

May 5, 2025 Special Meeting

The May 5, 2025 Special Meeting will take place at the Goldendale Grange starting at 5:30pm. 
You may attend the meeting in person, via Microsoft Teams online, or via phone at:

• Goldendale Grange Hall
  228 East Darland Drive
  Goldendale, WA 98620
• https://bit.ly/CarrigerPublicMtg
• Phone number: +1 (564) 999-2000, Conference ID: 915 222 306#

Following the Special Meeting, there may be a possible Public Comment Hearing starting at 6:00pm. An online EFSEC comment campaign will be open during the time of the possible public comment hearing from 6:00-8:00 PM or until last speaker, Monday May 5, 2025, at: https://comments.efsec.wa.gov. Written public comments will also be accepted during the public hearing or may be mailed to the EFSEC office via the address given above. EFSEC would like to invite commentors who wish to speak to sign up ahead of the possible public comment hearing. Anyone wishing to speak during the hearing may sign up by phone at (360) 664-1345 or email at efsec@efsec.wa.gov before 5:00 PM on May 5, 2025.

May 6, 2025 Special Meeting Site Visit

Members of the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) will tour the proposed Carriger Solar facility site location. Since the site visit will establish a quorum (a majority) of council members, the visit is considered to be a special  meeting and requires public notification. During the visit, no public comments or questions will be addressed by council or staff members. Interested parties are allowed to participate but must provide their own transportation.

The meeting will begin at 9:30 am at:
World War II Park
213 East Burgen Street
Goldendale, WA

Land Use Hearing

The Land Use Hearing took place on Tuesday May 16th, 2023.

Video

Video recording of the May 16th, 2023 Land Use Hearing.

Informational Meeting, April 25, 2023

The Carriger Informational Meeting took place on April 25, 2023 at the Goldendale Grange.

Video

Video recording of the April 25, 2023 Carriger Solar Informational Meeting.

Carriger Extension Request Special Meeting

The Special Meeting was held on June 9, 2023 from 1pm - 2pm. 

Video

Video recording of the June 9, 2023 Special Council Meeting

Comments

Comments received for the Carriger Solar Project are categorized below and updated as soon as can become available. Comments outside of a comment period can be sent to the EFSEC comment mailbox at any time: comments@efsec.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 42.56). Information included in the comment such as the commenter'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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