Klickitat County, Washington has proposed a new land use ordinance that, if passed, would impose sweeping restrictions on nearly all solar and battery energy storage system (BESS) development in the county. The ordinance, currently under review by the Planning Commission and Board of Commissioners, would apply to all utility-scale solar and BESS projects, including both stand-alone and co-located BESS facilities. A copy of the proposed ordinance is available here.
If adopted in its current state, the ordinance would introduce unprecedented and highly burdensome development standards and application requirements, including:
- Extensive setbacks that significantly reduce viable siting options;
- Mandatory agrivoltaics integration, regardless of feasibility or site suitability; and
- Complex and costly application requirements that far exceed those of other counties across the Pacific Northwest and even the Washington Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC).
Accordingly, the ordinance’s scope and severity would likely functionally ban local permitting of utility-scale solar and BESS development in Klickitat County. Instead, developers would have little choice but to pursue permitting through EFSEC, a process that is substantially more time-consuming and expensive than usual local permitting processes. Moreover, it could set dangerous precedent for other jurisdictions in Washington and beyond considering similar restrictions.
The County is slated to fast track the ordinance and will next consider the proposal at a public hearing on September 15, 2025. Developers seeking to comment and request changes to the proposed ordinance will want to quickly mobilize and engage.
