Have your say. WA council coming to Tri-Cities for local ag land solar project
Tri-Cities area residents can tell the state of Washington what they think about the Hop Hill Solar and Storage Project proposed for rural Benton County at a hearing in Kennewick Thursday.
A subsidiary of a joint venture of BrightNight and Cordelio Power proposes building a solar project on 17 square miles of rural land.
The site is 11 miles north of Prosser and seven miles east of the Highway 241 and Highway 82 interchange near the Hanford nuclear reservation.
BrightNight is based in Florida, and Cordelio Power is owned by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
A solar generation facility that could produce up to 500 megawatts of solar energy power and use batteries to store up to 500 megawatts is planned.
About 28% to 30% of the 17-square-mile site would be covered with solar panels, each standing 8- to 10-feet tall.
The rest of the land would be used for grazing sheep and agriculture production, according to BrightNight.
Now the land is used for grazing and other non-irrigated agriculture.
BrightNight applied to the Washington state Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, or EFSEC, for certification of the proposed project Dec. 12.
BrightNight started the application process with Benton County before a new county ordinance at the end of 2021 effectively prohibited large solar project in the county’s Growth Management Act Agricultural District.
BrightNight told EFSEC it had four goals for the project — delivering low-cost renewable energy, using existing electrical infrastructure, minimizing natural resource impacts and keeping land productive in conjunction with the development.
The energy project is projected to produce $50 million to $75 million in tax revenue over as many as 35 years.
During construction 250 to 300 jobs would be created over about 18 months, with most workers expected to be hired from Benton County and nearby. Three to five people would be employed when it operates.
Construction could start in the early months of 2024, with power production expected to begin in late 2025.
The Hop Hill Solar site would be near another proposed solar project in Benton County. The Wautoma project is proposed on land about five miles to the north.
Comment on Hop Hill Solar
The Hop Hills meeting will be held Thursday Feb. 23 at the Three Rivers Convention Center, 7016 West Grandridge Blvd., Kennewick. People also can participate by phone at 564-999-2000, Conference ID 721264534#, or online at bit.ly/HopHillSolarMeeting.
More information about joining the meeting remotely is posted at efsec.wa.gov/energy-facilities/hop-hill-solar.
An open house is planned 5 to 5:30 p.m., with an informational meeting and public comment to follow from 5:30 to about 7 p.m.
Next will be a land use consistency hearing from about 7 to 8 p.m. to take public comment on compliance with land use plans and zoning ordinances. The land use hearing could begin earlier if the informational meeting and hearing concludes before 7 p.m.
Those wishing to speak are asked to notify EFSEC by 5 p.m. Thursday at 360-664-1345 or efsec@efsec.wa.gov.
Comments also may be submitted in writing to efsec@efsec.wa.gov or mailed to Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council; Sonia Bumpus, EFSEC Director; 621 Woodland Square Loop P.O. Box 43172; Olympia, WA, 98504-3172.