A compromise on wind-farm project

Gov. Chris Gregoire has another chance to approve a controversial Kittitas Valley wind farm. She should do it.

Gregoire earlier kicked back the Washington Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council's original permit recommendation for the project that straddles Highway 97 north of Ellensburg. She asked EFSEC members to consider whether they could increase the minimum distance between residences and wind turbines without hurting the project's "economic viability."

The Kittitas County commissioners and some neighboring property owners object to the project because of the imposing nature of the turbines, which will be about 410 feet high.

After another hearing, the site evaluation council embraced an idea advanced by the wind farm's developer, Horizon Wind Energy. That is for the project developer to give "highest priority" to increasing the distance of the turbine from a landowner's residence. The EFSEC will evaluate whether each placement meets the "minimum visual impact" requirement.

That's a reasonable compromise, even though "highest priority" and "minimum visual impact" are vague standards for a discretion state regulators already had. Still, spelling it out in the new permit underscores that value, the council's executive director said. The new permit does not eliminate any of the proposed 63 turbines — nor will the new standard.

The change likely won't satisfy opponents. If the governor signs the permit, the county commissioners could appeal it to the state Supreme Court.

This episode shows building wind farms is not going to be as easy as backers of I-937, the renewable-energy initiative, promised last year. The tensions will continue in Kittitas County, Douglas County and elsewhere. And, there will be pressure to develop the technology to bring online other forms of nonhydropower renewable energy, such as solar and biomass.

That means Washington needs to build wind farms where it can, which is where the wind blows.

The council did what it could to answer the governor's concern. She should sign the permit.