Published 12:32 pm Thursday, May 15, 2025
France’s national electric utility has abandoned plans to install 31 turbines on farmland near Ellensburg, Wash., saying the long-planned project is no longer feasible because of market conditions.
EDF Renewables notified the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council on May 13 that it will give up its permit to build the Desert Claim wind project. EDF has had the permit since 2010.
“Unfortunately, given current market conditions, Desert Claim Wind Power LLC no longer sees an economically feasible path to finance construction and operation of the project,” Karen McGaffey, the company’s attorney, wrote in a letter to EFSEC.
The Paris-based EDF (Electricite de France) is state-controlled and has energy projects around the world. The letter did not elaborate on the market conditions holding back the project. Efforts to obtain further comment from EDF were unsuccessful.
A company executive told EFSEC in 2023 that the company had not been able to find a buyer for the electricity and that the project was hampered by “relatively low” wind speeds in the valley 8 miles northwest of Ellensburg.
Although the turbines would be capable of generating up to 100 megawatts, EDF expected the actual output to be 30% to 34% of that, the executive said.
EDF applied more than 20 years ago to Kittitas County to erect 120 turbines, but was denied a permit. EDF then applied in 2006 to EFSEC, a state panel that can override counties.
Then-Gov. Christine Gregoire issued a permit in 2010 allowing 95 turbines. The project was downsized to 31 turbines in 2018.
EFSEC has not received a wind project proposal since Scout Clean Energy’s 2021 application to build the Horse Heaven wind and solar project in Benton County. Former Gov. Jay Inslee approved the project last year.
Wind generation provided 8% of Washington’s electricity in 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
While the Biden administration encouraged wind power with tax breaks, President Donald Trump has ordered federal agencies to suspend issuing permits for wind projects. The order affects about a dozen agencies.
Trump mocks wind power as an unsteady source of electricity.
Oregon, Washington and 15 other states are suing Trump, alleging the order violates the Administrative Procedure Act. The states claim Trump is being unreasonable and harming their efforts to hold back global warming.
Trump’s order has chilled investment in wind power, according to the lawsuit. The states filed a motion for a preliminary injunction May 14 in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts. The Justice Department has asked Judge William Young for six weeks to respond to the motion.
House Republicans are considering phasing out tax breaks for wind projects.
