The size of Washington State’s largest wind farm just got cut by 50%
Washington State’s energy board cut the size of what would have been the state’s largest wind farm in half yesterday – here’s why.
Wind farm controversy in Washington State
The $1.7 billion, 1,150-megawatt (MW) Horse Heaven Clean Energy Center combines wind, solar, and battery storage. The original plan was for the project to feature 244 wind turbines across 24 miles of hills, and three solar farms over 5,447 acres south of the Tri-Cities, near the Oregon border.
But Horse Heaven has been stuck at the permitting stage with the seven-person Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) for the last three years. Yesterday, the EFSEC voted 5-2 in favor of a rule stating that new wind turbines could not be located within two miles of the nests of endangered ferruginous hawks.
The ferruginous hawk is classified as a Priority Species whose habitats need protection, and its nests can be found throughout the planning area. The nests often sit empty, but North America’s largest hawk is known to return to its nests after years pass.
The Audubon Society – which states on its website that it “strongly supports wind energy that is sited and operated properly to avoid, minimize, and mitigate effectively for the impacts on birds, other wildlife, and the places they need now and in the future” – supports the EFSEC’s decision.
So that decision effectively cuts the number of Horse Heaven’s wind turbines in half. Understandably, Horse Heaven’s developer, Colorado-based Scout Clean Energy, isn’t happy. But the company can appeal the decision to the EFSEC. If that fails, then the case goes to Governor Jay Inslee (D-WA), who will make the final decision.
With 3.4 GW of capacity, wind power is the second-largest contributor to the state’s renewable electricity generation, behind hydroelectricity, which supplies 60% of Washington’s total electricity net generation. In 2023, wind provided almost 8% of the state’s power.
Washington State is No 3 in the US for renewable generation overall, behind California and Texas. But natural gas is the second-largest in-state source of net generation, fueling about 18% of Washington’s total electricity generation in 2023, according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
By 2045, 100% of all electricity sold to Washington State customers must come from renewable or non-emitting sources.
Electrek’s Take
The EFSEC wanting the number of turbines reduced to protect an endangered hawk seems like a fair decision. The Audubon Society is very pro-wind power – they know that wind turbines aren’t the things that kill the most birds. No 1 is cats, No 2 is windows, and ultimately it’s climate change. So its support of the Horse Heaven decision carries weight.
The Yakama Nation isn’t in favor of the wind farm, either, citing damage to the hills’ cultural and historical significance. So it will be interesting to see what Inslee ultimately decides.
Washington is legally committed to achieving net zero by 2045, so they’ll ultimately have to figure it out.
Read more: Washington passes bill to target all EV sales by 2030 – for real this time
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Solar panel giant Qcells announced today that it’s temporarily furloughing 1,000 US workers – 25% of its workforce – and reducing pay and shifts at its factories in northeast Georgia due to supply chain delays caused by US Customs.
Qcells furloughs 1,000 workers
The supply chain delays are hindering the company’s ability to import components to build its solar panels. This has resulted in Qcells’ two factories in Cartersville and Dalton being unable to operate at full capacity for several months.
Qcells spokeswoman Marta Stoepker shared the following statement in an exclusive with Channel 2 Action News in Atlanta:
The company says the furloughed workers, who were notified this afternoon, will retain full benefits and won’t be laid off. However, Qcells will no longer be using staffing agency employees in Georgia “at this time.”
As Qcells introduced new supply chains to support its growing solar panel manufacturing facilities in Georgia, the company was recently forced to scale back production while our shipments into the US were delayed in the customs clearance process.
Although our supply chain operations are beginning to normalize, today we shared with our employees that HR actions must be taken to improve operational efficiency until production capacity returns to normal levels.
Stoepker said it expects to bring the furloughed workers back “in the coming weeks and months.” She continued:
Our commitment to building the entire solar supply chain in the United States remains. We will soon be back on track with the full force of our Georgia team delivering American-made energy to communities around the country.
Electrek’s Take
In January 2023, the Seoul-headquartered Qcells announced it would invest more than $2.5 billion to build a solar supply chain in Georgia – the largest-ever investment in clean energy manufacturing in the US to date. That included expanding the Dalton solar factory and building a fully integrated solar supply chain factory in Cartersville, Georgia, that will manufacture solar ingots, wafers, cells, and finished panels.
It’s not quite there yet, because that takes time. In the meantime, it’s being penalized by Customs. The US government under Trump says it’s keen on boosting domestic manufacturing. Why would it work against a company that’s onshoring an entire solar supply chain, including recycling?
Dalton and Cartersville employ nearly 4,000 people. Its total output will reach 8.4 GW of solar production capacity per year, which is equivalent to nearly 46,000 panels per day – enough to power approximately 1.3 million homes annually.
It’s ludicrous that it has been forced to furlough a quarter of its workforce due to the ineptness of the Trump administration’s US Customs policies. This is right up there with the ICE arrests at Hyundai’s plant in Georgia. Bravo.
Read more: Georgia gives US solar panel manufacturing a big boost with a new factory
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The breakthrough EV batteries Toyota says will double driving range and cut charging times are facing another setback. The company is once again delaying plans for a new battery plant in Japan.
Why is Toyota delaying its EV battery plant this time?
Earlier this year, Toyota bought a 280,000-square-meter plot of land in Fukuoka, Japan, where it planned to build a plant to produce the more advanced EV batteries.
A location agreement was expected to be signed by April, but Toyota pushed back construction by several months, blaming slower-than-expected demand for electric vehicles.
The agreement was expected to be finalized this Fall, but that will no longer be the case. According to Nikkei, Toyota is delaying the EV battery plant for the second time. Toyota will review and adjust plans over the next year.
Fukuoka governor, Seitaro Hattori, confirmed the news with reporters on Friday following a meeting with Toyota’s president, Koji Sato. Hattori also shut down claims that Toyota was planning to scrap the battery plant altogether.
Toyota again blamed slowing EV demand for the delay. The decision comes despite Keiji Kaita, president of Toyota’s Carbon Neutral Advanced Engineering Development Center, confirming at the Japan Mobility Show just last week that it’s “sticking on the schedule” to introduce its first solid-state battery-powered EV by 2028.
Last month, Toyota said it aimed to “achieve the world’s first practical use of all-solid-state batteries in BEVs” after securing a partnership with Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. to mass-produce them. It’s also working with Japanese oil giant Idemitsu.
The company recently revealed a solid-state battery pack prototype that it claims can deliver 747 miles (1,200 km) range and 10-minute fast charging, but will we ever see it actually in production?
Electrek’s Take
Toyota has been making empty promises about EV batteries for almost a decade now. It initially planned to introduce solid-state EV batteries in 2020, then pushed it to 2023, then 2026, and now it’s saying it will be around 2028.
Mass production is likely closer to the end of the decade, if Toyota doesn’t delay it again. While it’s blaming the slowing demand, global EV sales are still on the rise. According to Rho Motion, global EV sales topped 2 million for the first time in a single month in September 2025. Through the first nine months of the year, EV sales are up 26% compared to the same period in 2024.
Even with the US ending the $7,500 federal tax credit and other policies designed to promote electric vehicles, global adoption will continue building momentum over the next few years.
Is it a demand issue, or is Toyota just looking for another excuse? With rivals like Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, BMW, and Honda advancing next-gen EV batteries, Toyota will only fall further behind if it continues delaying key projects.
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