Skagit County may prohibit all future large-scale electrical energy projects on agricultural land as the region faces an influx of battery storage facility proposals, including one controversial project on the outskirts of Sedro-Woolley.
Nebraska-based energy company Tenaska has applied through an independent state agency for approval of Goldeneye, a 200-megawatt battery energy storage system (BESS) next to the Puget Sound Energy Sedro-Woolley substation east of city limits. It is one of at least four large projects solicited by PSE and under review in Whatcom and Skagit counties.
Goldeneye, first proposed in 2022, would entail around seven or eight acres of shipping container-style enclosures full of lithium-ion batteries on private land, less than a mile from the Skagit River in a rural residential area. The parcel’s proximity to the PSE substation is essential for efficient energy transmission, Tenaska says.
The project comes in response to the huge anticipated demand for electricity ushered in by state energy policy and the transition away from fossil fuels. The BESS would not generate its own power — rather, it would “charge” using intermittent energy sources like solar and wind power, and “discharge” to the nearby substation when energy production is low. According to Tenaska, the $250 million, 200-megawatt system could power about 100,000 homes for eight hours.
But because of its location on pasture land next to a salmon-bearing tributary creek, the BESS has garnered significant opposition, with elected officials and community members expressing concerns about safety and environmental impact.
Tenaska opted to go through the state Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) permitting process rather than seeking local approval. The council that will review Goldeneye is made up of state agency officials and one Skagit County planner. But opponents say this approval process circumvents local control and gives the governor rather than the county commissioners final say over the development.
Land use policy
Land use policy is one tool local governments have to tackle the onslaught of energy applications happening around the state and country. The Skagit County Planning Commission held a work session on Tuesday, Sept. 10 to consider a code amendment that will effectively prohibit large electrical utility development in agricultural resource land. Current language being considered includes both energy storage and energy generation.
The prohibition would likely not impact the Goldeneye project or the NextEra BESS already in the Skagit County application pipeline — that project is proposed for industrial land outside of Mount Vernon.
The commission will hold a public hearing on the amendment on Oct. 8 and is accepting comments at pdscomments@co.skagit.wa.us.
Whatcom County put its own BESS policy in place more than two years ago. At the behest of another energy company, NextEra Energy Resources, Whatcom amended its land use code in June 2022 to create a permitting pathway for battery storage systems. Utility-scale energy storage systems are now permitted in industrial zones and can be developed with a conditional use permit in certain rural areas near substations. In Whatcom, BESS projects are not allowed on land zoned for agriculture.
Opposition from elected officials
State Sen. Keith Wagoner told Cascadia Daily News he believes battery storage units have a place in the power grid, but feels the Goldeneye location is not appropriate.
Wagoner and fellow District 39 legislators Rep. Carolyn Eslick and Rep. Sam Low penned an opposition letter to EFSEC and Gov. Jay Inslee on Aug. 23 that reads: “This technology does have potential; we are not opposed to its use but siting criteria should include avoiding populated areas, fish-producing bodies of water, vulnerable drinking water sources (to include groundwater), critical wildlife habitat, and agricultural areas.”
The Skagit Board of County Commissioners have also weighed in, sending their own letter to EFSEC on Aug. 28. The commissioners say the project doesn’t fit the county’s comprehensive plan, land use code, or the community’s commitment to protecting the Skagit floodplain for farms and fisheries.
“It creates an ache in all of our hearts to see a piece of farmland consumed by a project,” Skagit County Commissioner Lisa Janicki said at an EFSEC meeting on Aug. 13.
Public concerns
Many residents have voiced worries about safety, especially the concern of a battery fire at the facility and potential toxic run-off into the creek.
According to the international BESS Failure Incident Database maintained by the Electric Power Research Institute, there hasn’t been a utility-level battery storage fire or other incident in Washington since a 2013 fire at a mall in Port Angeles. The EPRI notes that even as incidents continue to occur, the rate has sharply decreased as far more storage capacity is installed around the world and the industry incorporates lessons learned into design and practice.
In other words, as Tenaska representatives repeated online and during public meetings, incidents are “rare yet much-publicized.”
But, Skagit County Commissioner Peter Browning told EFSEC, “we do not have firemen that are prepared to take on the magnitude of a lithium-ion battery fire.”
Tenaska has promised it will develop a site-specific emergency response plan and provide and pay for specialized training and resources for local first responders. The company has developed 200 megawatts (MW) of BESS currently operational in the country, with 200 MW in construction and 10,000 MW in development — and has had no failure incidents (i.e. fires) at any site.
The Skagit River System Cooperative, a tribal consortium, also opposes the project because of Hansen Creek’s importance as a salmon-bearing tributary to the Skagit River.
Starting in 2009, the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe spent more than $2.7 million in state and federal funds to improve and restore the Hansen Creek stream channel and salmon habitat.
One element of the Goldeneye project is a transmission line under Hansen Creek. Tenaska said the line would be placed a minimum of 10 feet below the scour depth of the creek, and said the project is “intentionally designed to avoid impacts to the creek.”
During a three-hour Sedro-Woolley City Council meeting on Sept. 4, the council and members of the public told Tenaska representatives they felt their questions and fears weren’t being adequately addressed.
“We understand there are a lot of concerns,” Tenaska’s lead project developer, Tommy Nelson, told the restive crowd. He noted the project requires an “exhaustive approval process” and feedback will be accepted at every step along the way. The project will go through the State Environmental Policy Act process and if a determination of significance is made, an environmental impact statement will be required.
Other projects in the pipeline
While the Goldeneye project has received the brunt of attention so far, another 200-MW BESS project by Sounder Energy Storage is proposed in the same area, off Fruitdale Road south of the Sedro-Woolley substation, also adjacent to Hansen Creek. That application, overseen by Bellingham land use attorney Tim Schermetzler, isn’t as far along in the process as Goldeneye but could take the same state EFSEC permitting route. Sounder Energy Storage did not respond to a request for more information.
A third company, NextEra, has applied to develop two BESS projects in Skagit and Whatcom — a 200-MW system west of Mount Vernon and a 100-MW system in Custer. Both projects are proceeding through the local permitting process rather than the EFSEC process. NextEra also did not respond to requests for more information.
Julia Tellman writes about civic issues and anything else that happens to cross her desk; contact her at juliatellman@cascadiadaily.com.
