Desert Claim Wind Power LLC will ask the state to recommend approval of its 180 MW wind farm in Kittitas County, located eight miles northwest of Ellensburg, Wash.
Desert Claim Wind Power will file a motion this month asking the state Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) to pre-empt the Kittitas County Board of Commissioners and recommend approval of the wind farm. In 2005, the commissioners turned down Desert Claim's application to site the wind farm, the company says. However, on March 27, EFSEC recommended approval of Horizon Wind's Kittitas Valley Wind Power Project, a similar wind farm located several miles west of the Desert Claim site.
In addition, Desert Claim has released survey results that found 78% of Kittitas County voters support the development of wind farms within the county. The survey of 300 Kittitas County voters was performed by Moore Information, a public-opinion research firm based in Portland, Ore. Only 9% of those surveyed opposed wind farm development and 13% had no opinion, the company adds.
