Court 'sets precedent' by approving Washington wind farm

UNITED STATES: The Washington Supreme Court has rejected moves by environmental groups to block the construction of a wind farm with a capacity of up to 75MW.

by Patrick Smith 3 September 2013

A visualisation of what the project will look like
The decision backs up the approval by then-governor Christine Gregoire to build the Whistling Ridge project on commercial timber land in March 2012.

Environmental groups, Save Our Scenic Area and Friends of the Columbia Gorge filed a lawsuit in reaction to the approval, seeking to have the decision overturned, but the court ruled that there was no basis for the challenge.

Stoel Rives, the law firm representing Whistling Ridge Energy, welcomed the decision and said that it sets a precedent for other projects across the state. There is now nothing stopping the company from going ahead with construction.

The farm will consist of up to 50 1.2MW to 2.5MW turbines with a maximum generating capacity of 75MW and will cover 4.7 square kilometres.