> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://skamania-dispatch.ghost.io/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # ⚡ Special Report: Klickitat County’s Solar & Battery Storage Ordinance - URL: https://skamania-dispatch.ghost.io/special-report-klickitat-countys-solar-battery-storage-ordinance/ - Published: 2025-11-15T01:06:28.000Z - Updated: 2025-11-15T01:06:28.000Z - Description: A major BESS and solar ordinance is nearing a vote in Klickitat County. Supporters see grid reliability and renewable-energy benefits; neighbors and tribes are raising safety, farmland, and scenic-area concerns. Here’s what’s at stake, and why Skamania should watch too. - Author: Dispatch Squatch - Tags: Klickitat County, Klickitat County Planning Commission, Skamania County **For both residents of both Klickitat and Skamania County, this emerging Battery Energy Storage System ordinance in Klickitat is worth keeping an eye on.** This special report will give you an introduction to what's on the table. When one Gorge county adopts strong or weak standards, **projects and developers tend to shift regionally**. And because Washington allows major energy projects to bypass local rules through the EFSEC ([Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council](https://efsec.wa.gov/?ref=skamania-dispatch.ghost.io)) process, both counties benefit from having clear, well-designed local standards. So, let's get into it! tl;dr: **Klickitat is writing the first Gorge-side playbook on how rural counties here may handle utility-scale battery storage. Skamania may face similar proposals in the next few years.** --- # 🔋 **What Is a BESS? A Quick Guide for Neighbors** A **Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)** stores excess renewable energy, mainly solar and wind, and releases it back to the grid when demand is high. Think of it as a giant, industrial-scale rechargeable battery. They can help: - prevent blackouts, - balance the electric grid, - support clean-energy expansion, and - store energy for use during evenings or extreme weather. They’re widely used in the Southwest, California, Texas, and increasingly throughout the Pacific Northwest. ![A large utility-scale battery energy storage facility sits on a cleared, gravel-covered site in a rural landscape. Dozens of long, white container-like battery units are arranged in neat parallel rows, each connected by electrical equipment and fenced for security. Power lines and a large substation stretch across the background, with farmland and low hills visible under a golden sky.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/08/d4/08d4e738-cf74-4996-a367-55dfa5ad19c9/content/images/2025/11/2023-06-14-rwe-connects-its-first-utility-scale-battery-storage-project-to-the-california-grid.jpg) An example of a BESS, the ****Fifth Standard battery storage facility** in Fresno, California. Sizes and layouts of these facilities vary by project. --- # ⚠️ **Why Are These Projects Debated?** ### ⚡ **Benefits to Consider:** Klickitat county sits on major BPA transmission corridors, making it one of the most cost-efficient places in the region to connect large-scale energy projects. BESS facilities help utilities store excess solar power during the day and release it in the evening when demand spikes, improving overall grid stability. For local communities, a well-designed BESS can: - **Strengthen grid reliability** during windstorms, fires, heat waves, and outages - **Improve emergency resilience** by stabilizing voltage and reducing blackouts - **Reduce dependence on gas “peaker plants”** by shifting renewable energy into peak-use hours - **Support future industrial loads** without new fossil-fuel generation - **Generate tax revenue** through property taxes, impact fees, or negotiated benefit agreements - **Create short-term construction jobs** and ongoing maintenance work But the benefits depend heavily on **how the county regulates siting, safety, environmental impacts, public engagement, and fiscal agreements.** This is why the new Solar & BESS ordinance has become such a focal point of local debate. ### ⚡ Carefully Assessing Risks: Across the country, communities are also asking questions about: - **Safety** - Lithium-ion systems are generally safe, but can fail in rare cases through “thermal runaway” fires, which require special firefighting equipment and hazmat protocols. - **Farmland & Rural Character** - Some communities express concerns about loss of agricultural land, visual impacts, fencing, glare, and large construction footprints. - **Local Control vs. State Preemption** - In Washington, if a local ordinance is too strict, or doesn’t exist, developers can bypass counties via **EFSEC**, the state’s siting authority. **Counties want rules strong enough to protect neighbors, but not so restrictive that they lose jurisdiction entirely.** - **Environmental & Scenic Impacts** - Impacts to wildlife, soil, dust, stormwater, and the Gorge’s scenic viewshed. --- # 🏜 **What Klickitat County Is Proposing** Klickitat placed a temporary moratorium on battery storage projects in 2024 and formed a **22-member Project Advisory Committee (PAC)** in early 2025 to create a full ordinance. The draft ordinance includes: ### **Required setbacks and buffers** Including debated distances between facilities and homes. ### **A mandatory neighborhood meeting before an application is submitted** This is intended to create early transparency and accountability. ### **Nine required technical reports**, including: - fiscal impact analysis - fire-safety plan - visual impact analysis - agricultural mitigation plan - community involvement report - dual-use/agrivoltaics evaluation - decommissioning and recycling plan ### **Screening, lighting, and landscaping standards** To reduce visual impact and improve safety. ### **Noise, stormwater, and vegetation rules** Including limitations on combustible materials around battery units. ### **Amending the Energy Overlay Zone** Solar projects would no longer be allowed “by right” and must undergo a conditional-use permit process with more detailed review. ### **Environmental review through SEPA** The draft SEPA questionnaire will be updated following public comment and Planning Commission deliberations. --- # 🧭 **Where the Debate Stands Now** The Planning Commission is in the final stage of deliberations. Public testimony is closed, but written comments are still read. Themes emerging from recent hearings (as conveyed in the [Staff Report](https://www.klickitatcounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/21883/Staff-Report-Solar-BESS-Ord-for-PC-hearing-9-15-2025?ref=skamania-dispatch.ghost.io)): - **Residents & Tribes** \- strong support for safety, scenic protection, agricultural preservation, and early public involvement. - **Developers (solar, battery, hydrogen)** \- concern that the ordinance may be more restrictive than surrounding counties, incentivizing developers to apply through EFSEC instead of local permitting. - **County departments** \- Emergency Management emphasized safety protocols, and Economic Development commented on fiscal reporting. --- ## 📄 **What Happened at the Sept. 15 Planning Commission Hearing?** *(Documented by* [*Documenters.org*](https://www.documenters.org/assignments/regular-meeting-16441/report/?ref=skamania-dispatch.ghost.io) *\- CC-BY-4.0)* At this key hearing, Planning Commissioners and staff walked through the [**Draft Industrial-Scale Solar & BESS Ordinance**](https://www.klickitatcounty.gov/DocumentCenter/View/22112/SOLAR-ORDINANCE-PAC-approved-w-PC-V9-web-2025-11-10?bidId=&ref=skamania-dispatch.ghost.io) section-by-section, focusing on: ### **1\. Applicability & Zoning** - Clarifying that **all utility-scale BESS** (standalone or paired with solar) would require a **Conditional Use Permit**. - Confirming that solar is allowed only in **General Rural, Open Space, Extensive Agriculture, and Rural Residential-2**, and prohibited in the **Gorge National Scenic Area viewshed**. ### **2\. Setbacks & Separation** - Ongoing debate about the **5,280-foot (1-mile)** visual setback from any residential property. - Commissioners revisited minimum **100-ft property-line setbacks**, fire-protection buffers, and vegetation-clearance rules. ### **3\. Fire & Safety Requirements** - Discussion of the **Safety Feasibility Assessment Report**: - thermal-runaway risk planning - emergency-access standards - radio-interference mitigation - detailed Emergency Operations Plan - First-responder training responsibilities were emphasized. ### **4\. Agriculture & Agrivoltaics** - Commissioners reviewed requirements for: - **Agricultural Land Mitigation Reports** - dual-use grazing/crop production - soil protection and water-management standards - limits on impervious surface area (20% cap) ### **5\. Visual Impacts** - Visual-impact modeling, screening, landscaping plans, and **“before/after” simulations** were covered. - Particular attention was given to protecting travel corridors and rural character. ### **6\. Fiscal & Economic Reporting** - The Commission reviewed requirements for the **Fiscal Analysis Report**, including: - job creation - impacts on county services - tax revenue projections - real-estate impact studies - community benefit agreements ### **7\. Community Engagement** - Residents and tribes must be notified early. - Projects require at least **one pre-application neighborhood meeting** with a county planner present. - Developers must submit a **Community Engagement Results Report** explaining how they addressed concerns. ### **8\. Developer Comments** - Industry representatives raised concerns about: - the one-mile setback - numerous required reports - agrivoltaic feasibility - potential for projects to route through **EFSEC** instead of local permitting if the ordinance becomes too strict. --- # 🗳 **How to Participate** ### **Next Meeting:** **Planning Commission - Monday, Nov. 17, 6:00 PM** Klickitat County Services Building (Room 200), Goldendale **Zoom:** Meeting ID [857 8237 2047](https://www.google.com/url?q=https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85782372047?pwd%3DWcV8P4l5C1aTxaO71ZIpRJW7NaCsNb.1&sa=D&source=calendar&ust=1710350206445383&usg=AOvVaw2eEtFK97dc8fG3850VXCyc) | Passcode 152082 Public comment is closed for this hearing, but written comments may still be submitted: 📬 **planning@klickitatcounty.org** 📬 [**bocc@klickitatcounty.org**](mailto:bocc@klickitatcounty.org) --- # 🌄 **Why Skamania Should Watch Too** - Skamania shares the same BPA transmission corridors that attract large-scale energy projects. - BESS facilities can be built without large solar farms, making steep or fragmented terrain, or the minimal amount of buildable land across the county in general, less of a barrier. - EFSEC preemption applies equally in Skamania, meaning state-approved energy projects can bypass local zoning. - Skamania will begin its own **GMA update** soon, including potential energy-facility considerations. - Fire districts, planners, and the public benefit from advance awareness of BESS safety, training, and land-use implications. - Developers often “county-shop” based on which county has clearer or more permissive ordinances. **What Klickitat decides today may shape what Skamania encounters tomorrow.** We hope this has helped catch you up on what BESS is, and what that may mean for Gorge Residents in the years to come.