Kittitas County, WA — Solar Development Risk Assessment

No Moratorium

No county-specific solar setbacks; standard agricultural zone setbacks apply.

Kittitas County: CUP in Agricultural (AG) and Rural zones; Kittitas County Board of County Commissioners.

Cautious/neutral — wind energy establishes renewable precedent; solar entering market; county board generally neutral; ranch and agricultural land moderately protective

Pacific Power and PSE serve area; wind energy (Puget Sound Energy Wild Horse wind farm and others) well-established on Kittitas ridges; shared BPA transmission queue competition; Ellensburg college town (CWU) moderates community sentiment; valley floor solar viable

Stable

Large facilities (≥350 MW): Washington EFSEC exclusive siting jurisdiction — state preempts local permitting. Projects <350 MW: county CUP or SUP in agricultural or resource-zoned land; no statewide preemption floor for smaller projects. SEPA review required for utility-scale; DNS/MDNS/EIS per county SEPA lead agency. GMA counties must address energy siting in comprehensive plans. SMA applies near shorelines. Critical Areas Ordinances: wetlands, fish habitat, flood zones require county CAO compliance. Agricultural land: county-specific farmland protection policies apply; prime farmland conversion may require additional findings.

Washington Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA/SB 5116, 2019): IOUs must be carbon-neutral by 2030; 100% carbon-free by 2045. Net metering: ≤100 kW for IOU customers under WUTC; PUDs set individual limits, most allow up to 100% annual consumption offset. RESIP (Renewable Energy System Incentive Program): production incentives for systems ≤100 kW, utility-funded. Sales & use tax exemption: solar PV equipment fully exempt (RCW 82.08.962). Property tax exemption: solar systems excluded from assessed value (RCW 84.36.635). Community solar programs through PSE, SnoPUD, Tacoma Power, Clark Public Utilities, and most WA PUDs. PACE financing available in participating WA counties. Federal ITC: 30% (IRA 2022); low-income adder: 10% bonus ITC for qualifying community benefit projects.

Wind energy dominates renewable development on Kittitas ridgelines; some ground-mount solar projects approved in valley floor areas near Ellensburg; CWU solar installations on campus.

No formal solar denials on record; some projects deferred due to transmission queue shared with wind developers.