Badger Mountain Solar Farm Near Wenatchee Is Dead After 5 Years

In an obvious demonstration of how clueless I can be. I had no idea that a solar farm had been proposed for Badger Mountain a few years ago. Let alone that it had also been recently cancelled. 

According to seattletimes.com,
‘After five years of running into one obstacle after another, the developer of a proposed 2,400-acre solar farm east of Wenatchee has decided to walk away.
The Badger Mountain Solar project was mired in controversy from the start due to its location. However, it also faced broader challenges weighing down many wind and solar projects as Washington races to meet its clean-energy deadlines. 

The original proposal is made by a Connecticut-based energy company called Avangrid. A subsidiary of theirs called Aurora Solar originally applied in 2021 for a 200 MW Solar farm. With the possibility of adding a 200 MW battery system. 

200 megawatts would handle approximately 1/5 of all Seattle’s power needs 

This is a good thing, right? 

Not everyone thought this was a good idea Including the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation. The Yakima Nation considers Badger Mountain a “traditional cultural property”. They formally opposed the project in 2023. 

The Sierra Club and the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife were not happy with the idea either.  

In 2024. Avangrid put a pause on the project. Then by 2025 they told the state that some land leases had expired and would need to be renegotiated. 

As federal wind and tax credits started to go away, and tariffs were being put in place to make materials and equipment more expensive, Avangrid asked for another pause citing funding and tax uncertainties. 

The last straw.

The final nail in the coffin seems to be projected delays by the Bonneville Power Administration for improvements to their transmission line across the Cascades moving its completion from 2030 to 2035. 

With all the information that we have now, it just seems like this whole project was doomed before it could start. 

Are there other opportunities in Washington state for renewable energy? 
If we find them, can they be exploited?