SEDRO-WOOLLEY, Wash. — It's touted as a way to a greener future, but in Skagit County, many are worried about unintended consequences.
A proposed facility to store electricity in large lithium-ion batteries has people charged up. They say not only would it be a safety hazard, but it could be subverting the will of the people.
The facility would be located on 8 acres of farmland east of Sedro-Woolley, off Minkler Road and along Hanson Creek.
Developers say it is safe but townspeople have their doubts.
Matt Steinman is a fifth-generation family farmer in the Skagit Valley. To him, this land isn't just something that provides food.
"It just means family," he says. "It's everything."
"Everything" could soon include a lithium-ion battery energy storage facility.
It's essentially a giant charger for batteries.
The facility would store energy from wind or solar power for situations when there is an outage or potentially for high usage during things like heat waves.
That sounds great, but those facilities have been catching fire and exploding around the world.
On Friday, a fire at a facility in Escondido, California, forced school closures and evacuations.
Another outside Phoenix in 2020 injured four firefighters.
In June, a fire at a facility in South Korea killed 22, and the list goes on.
The fires are incredibly difficult to extinguish, so fire crews tend to let them burn out. Sometimes, that takes days.
Steinman argues the risks of smoke and runoff from a potential fire in Skagit County are too great for the valley.
"The prevailing tactic is to let them burn out. That puts a huge risk of putting all the noxious chemicals into the air. That's harmful to people, fauna, wildlife," he says. "We have a fire, we have a meltdown and we have to evacuate. It's awful for the stream. It's awful for the land."
Nebraska-based Tenaska Renewables is behind the proposal. The company tells KING 5 that the project is designed to "operate safely" and that technological advances make the batteries "much more stable" than previous generations "ensuring the facility will operate safely for years." Senior Project Developer Alex Martin adds, "The availability of reliable energy ensures adequate power for continued economic growth that creates jobs and investments in the region."
There is no active farming, or water rights for agriculture on the parcel that the proposed project will be located on. The county code allows for major utility developments as a special use under the current zoning of this parcel.
Construction of the $250 million facility would support 75 to 100 union jobs.
Still, both the Sedro-Woolley City Council and Skagit County Board of Commissioners are on the record opposing the plan.
An overflow crowd packed a public meeting with company officials this week, with few in support of the project.
However, none of that may matter as the governor will make the final decision.
That is what upsets Steinman the most.
"Everyone is opposed to this," he says. "Ultimately, this is about overreach. We all need to understand that and stand up and pay attention to our representative democracy."
County officials say they are not opposed to the technology in general. In fact, the county is moving forward with a similar facility about 13 miles west of the Sedro-Woolley location.
It sits on industrial land, which they believe is much more appropriate.
A timeline for a final decision on the proposal has not been announced.