In Snoqualmie Valley, the proposed facility is creating a clash between community safety concerns and regional energy needs.
SNOQUALMIE, Wash. — Hundreds of Snoqualmie residents took to the streets Sunday to protest a proposed large-scale battery energy storage facility that would be built near a residential neighborhood and local school.
In Snoqualmie Valley, the plans are creating a clash between community safety concerns and regional energy needs.
The project, called Cascadia Ridge BESS, is being developed by Jupiter Power. The company filed its permit with King County on Monday, launching a formal permitting and environmental review process that will ultimately determine whether the facility moves forward.
“This is one of the most unanimously opposed things I think I’ve ever seen in the Snoqualmie Valley,” said Danielle Wallace of Snoqualmie Valley for Responsible Energy.
Wallace tells KING 5 that she has personally knocked on 900 doors to organize opposition to the massive project.
“One-hundred-thirty megawatts is about 30 football fields, or the equivalent of about 7,000 Teslas stacked on top of each other right behind these houses that are right next to us here,” she said.
Opposition boiled over last month at a community meeting. Sunday’s street march marked an escalation of that resistance. Residents have raised concerns about fire safety, pointing to a battery storage fire in California that took months to clean up.
“Fires, for sure, is a huge concern, considering the toxic chemicals that they’ll put, not only into our lungs, but also into the environment around us,” Wallace said.
Critics have also objected to what they say is a rushed timeline.
“The community has only really been given about a month’s notice,” Wallace said.
Not everyone in the area opposes the project, however.
Nicole Grant, an electrician and King County resident with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 46, spoke in favor of it.
“What we want badly is reliable electricity,” she said, adding that the facility would allow Puget Sound Energy to ensure consistent power delivery to customers.
“Power outages are here now, and we really need to do something to keep the lights on today,” Grant said.
Jupiter Power pushed back on safety concerns in a statement from Hans Detweiler, senior director of development and the project’s lead developer.
“Safety is Jupiter Power’s top priority,” Detweiler said, noting the project will comply with all relevant local, state and federal fire codes, use only UL-tested equipment, and be monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week down to the battery module level. The company also said it plans to partner with local fire agencies on site-specific emergency response plans.
Detweiler described the project as “thoughtfully sited and designed for seamless integration with the nearby utility substation,” and said it would create local jobs and generate new tax revenue for public services.
Following the permit filing, King County staff will first review the application for completeness before scheduling a public comment period. Residents opposed to the project say they intend to keep fighting.
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