Ferguson OKs solar project opposed by Yakama Nation

Ferguson OKs solar project opposed by Yakama Nation

Published 8:15 am Friday, December 5, 2025

Cypress Creek Renewables, owned by Stockholm-based EQT Infrastructure, plans to install solar panels and batteries about 2 miles northeast of Goldendale

Gov. Bob Ferguson will permit a Swedish investment firm to build a solar and battery installation on about 2,000 acres of farmland in south-central Washington, despite opposition from the Yakama Nation.

The Carriger solar project will provide jobs and clean energy, Ferguson said Dec. 4. “This project is a win for our state,” he said in a statement

Cypress Creek Renewables, owned by Stockholm-based EQT Infrastructure, plans to install solar panels and batteries about 2 miles northeast of Goldendale in Klickitat County.

Yakima Nation

The installation will encroach on an annual food and medicine harvest, the Yakama Nation said in a statement. The tribe documented other negative impacts, but its concerns were dismissed by Ferguson, Yakima Nation Tribal Council Chairman Gerald Lewis said.

“It is alarming and bitterly discouraging to see that Gov. Ferguson is  continuing former Gov. (Jay) Inslee’s approach to championing new industrial-scale, alternative-energy development at the expense of our land, our water, our wildlife and our sacred places,” Lewis said.

Ferguson last summer told the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council to consult with the tribe. He set a 60-day deadline to have a proposal on his desk.

The Yakama Nation sought further environmental study and formal hearings. But 60 days did not give EFSEC enough time for either. Cypress Creek must start construction by July 4 to qualify for federal tax credits, Ferguson noted. Although Washington is a “leader in climate policy,” it lags behind all other states in renewable energy growth, he said.

County opposed

Klickitat County commissioners also opposed the project. County residents said the project will mar views, take farmland and be a fire hazard. Ferguson addressed only the tribe’s concerns in his approval letter to EFSEC.

In the letter, Ferguson told EFSEC he expected the council to improve consultation with tribes.

EFSEC staff members consulted with the tribe and concluded the project will not significantly damage tribal culture.

Cypress Creek will plant vegetation or build berms to make panels and batteries less visible from roads. Cypress Creek also will give the tribe up to $100,000 over 10 years for archeological and history research.

The Yakama Nation proposed eliminating some solar panels. Cypress Creek said the tribe’s proposal would cut the installation’s power output by half and kill the project.

When the sun shines, the panels will generate up to 160 megawatts of power. The batteries will store 63 megawatts, according to Cypress Creek.

Carriger is the second major solar project approved over the objection of the Yakama Nation. The tribe says the Horse Heaven wind and solar project in Benton County will damage cultural sites. The tribe, Benton County and Tri-Cities CARES, a citizens group, are suing to stop the project. Inslee approved the project last year.