Status update: 2024 – The state-issued permit for the project expired on March 5, 2022. In 2024, the Washington Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) reviewed two separate requests, one that would have revived and extended the expired permit and another that would have transferred the permit and the project to a new parent company, Twin Creeks Timber (aka Green Diamond Resource Company). On July 17, 2024, EFSEC issued a written order denying both requests and declaring the permit “expired.”

Read “Victory for Conservation: Controversial Whistling Ridge Wind Project Ends After 22 Years” from our Summer/Fall 2024 magazine here.

Background

Proposed along the boundary of the National Scenic Area and within an area designated for the protection of the endangered northern spotted owl, the Whistling Ridge Energy Project would have marred world-class scenery and harmed endangered species habitat, with little to no benefit to the state of Washington’s citizens.

Icons of the Pacific Northwest, like the Columbia River Gorge, Mount Rainier, and the Olympic Mountains, should be off-limits to large-scale energy development. We can combat climate change without having to sacrifice our most special places and our core values.

Over the years, the proposed project went through several name changes and project reconfigurations. In 2002, PPM Energy. Inc. requested from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) a 70-MW generation interconnection to BPA’s energy grid for a new wind energy project, then called the “SDS Underwood Wind Generation Project.” In 2007, S.D.S. Co., LLC and Broughton Lumber Company proposed to build the renamed “Saddleback Wind Farm,” which would have consisted of up to 85 wind turbines, each up to 426 feet tall, on prominent ridgelines on both private and public land near the town of White Salmon.

In 2009, Whistling Ridge Energy, LLC (WRE) submitted an application to EFSEC for 50 turbines on private land under yet another new name, the “Whistling Ridge Energy Project.”  Also in 2009, the Washington Department of Natural Resources rejected the request to build wind turbines on public land.

In 2012, state officials reduced the proposed Whistling Ridge Energy Project to no more than 35 wind turbines (down from the original proposal of 85 turbines), each up to 430 feet tall. At that point, the original project applicant, WRE announced that the project was on hold and “unlikely to move forward.” WRE never took any steps to move forward with the project. A permit issued for the project by Washington Governor Christine Gregoire expired ten years later, on March 5, 2022.

On September 13, 2023, more than a year and a half after the permit expired, requests were filed with EFSEC to resurrect the expired permit, create a new expiration date of November 1, 2026, and transfer the permit to a new owner. Ultimately, both requests were denied by the Council, and the permit was “declared expired” in a written order. 

For more information, please visit EFSEC’s webpage for the Whistling Ridge Energy Project here.

Friends Opposes the Whistling Ridge Energy Project Because:

It would have harmed Columbia Gorge scenic resources.

The project site was located along the boundary of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area in the heart of the Gorge. The immense turbines would have loomed over the Gorge horizon and would have been visible for many miles in every direction. The affected scenic landscape within the Cascade Mountain Range is visited by tourists from all over the world for its unique qualities, including dramatic mountain vistas, steep cliffs, pastoral lands, and the Columbia River.

It threatened protected wildlife.

The project would have also harmed wildlife by permanently removing thousands of acres of forested habitat, including land within a designated Northern Spotted Owl Special Emphasis Area. Furthermore, the site was never surveyed for birds during key migratory periods, in direct violation of state and federal rules for siting energy projects.

It would have harmed Gorge communities.

By diminishing Gorge scenic resources, the Whistling Ridge Energy Project would have harmed the local tourism economy and negatively affected property values in surrounding communities. It would have also caused substantial traffic and road damage along local roads during construction.

The project was not needed.

The average power capacity of the Whistling Ridge Energy Project would have been 25 megawatts or less, and the total capacity would ahve been 75 megawatts or less. This is a drop in the energy bucket compared to the more than 7,000 megawatts of installed wind power capacity in Washington and Oregon. BPA has concluded that wind power capacity “is being developed in the Northwest far in advance of regional power demand.” Because of this surplus, most Northwest wind energy is distributed to California. The Whistling Ridge project was simply not needed.

The public overwhelmingly opposed the project.

Eighty-six percent of public comments opposed or expressed concerns about the Whistling Ridge Energy Project. Concerns were raised by several public resource management agencies, tourism groups, and environmental organizations, including the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the Washington Department of Natural Resources, the Washington Counsel for the Environment, the Skamania County Agri-Tourism Association, Sustainable Travel International, Friends of the Historic Columbia River Highway, Seattle Audubon Society, Vancouver Audubon Society, Kittitas Audubon Society, Columbia Gorge Audubon Society, American Bird Conservancy, Conservation Northwest, and the Gifford Pinchot Task Force.

Friends of the Columbia Gorge supports responsible development of renewable energy sources, but the Whistling Ridge proposal was not responsible. It was not critical to our energy needs and was not worth sacrificing the unique scenic beauty and wildlife of the Columbia River Gorge.

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