YAKIMA, Wash. — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday said he has approved plans by Cypress Creek Renewables to construct two large solar farms in Yakima County in the central part of the state.
Cypress Creek will build the two 80-MW projects — High Top Solar and Ostra Solar — just west of the border between Yakima and Benton counties. The remote area is home to a just a handful of farms and 20 miles from the nearest town of Sunnyside. The two farms are expected to provide enough energy to power roughly 30,000 homes in the region.
Sarah Slusser, Cypress Creek Renewables | © RTO Insider LLC
Speaking at a press conference in the city of Yakima, Inslee noted that no farmland will be displaced by the projects. “Our team took great care to micro-site each project,” Cypress Creek CEO Sarah Slusser added.
The two solar farms are expected to go online in 2025 and 2026, according to Tai Wallace, senior director of development at Cypress Creek. Wallace declined to provide a budget for construction, which is expected to create about 300 to 550 jobs, with about five to 10 remaining once the projects are completed.
Inslee has been leading to push to set up numerous wind and solar farms in Washington to wean the state from electricity produced by fossil fuels. His administration has calculated that the state will need to double its electricity production by 2050 to replace fossil fuel resources while accommodating an increasing population.
“We are the perfect place to lead the world in clean energy,” Inslee said.
When questioned on whether he would uncritically approve wind and solar projects because of his strong support for alternative energy sources, Inslee replied: “We don’t rubber-stamp these things. We look at them with a critical eye.”
Washington law allows energy project developers to pick whether they want the state government or the appropriate county government to review their permit applications. Many applicants choose the state approach of going through the Washington Energy Facilities Siting Evaluation Council, which makes recommendations to the governor on whether to approve a project.
High Top and Ostra join two other eastern Yakima County solar farms set for construction. They include the 80-MW Goose Prairie project, approved by Inslee in December 2021, and the 94-MW Black Rock project, approved by Yakima County officials in May 2022.
The Black Rock project will share space with sheep that graze on the grass on the site, making it the second agrivoltaic site in Washington. The first such project mingling solar with farming is already online on the Colville Indian Reservation north of the Grand Coulee Dam.