Permitting Status

No active permit application as of March 2026.

Accelergen Energy filed the original pre-application. Jupiter Power / Cascadia Ridge Resiliency LLC took over the project and expanded from one ~25-acre parcel to five parcels totaling ~45 acres. They filed a Commercial Site Development permit in December 2025, then canceled it in February 2026. Ordinance 19824 requires a community meeting before filing — the open house on March 17 may have been needed before resubmitting.

Regulatory framework

King County Ordinance 19824 (September 2024, sponsored by Councilmember Sarah Perry) is the BESS development code for unincorporated King County. It permits BESS on 97% of the county’s unincorporated land.

Under the site’s UR zoning, BESS is a permitted use. No Conditional Use Permit, no public hearing, limited formal public input.

SEPA review is the main avenue for community comment. The window is 21 days.

What’s in the ordinance

• Condition 29 requires an alternatives analysis — location, demand management, social and economic impacts, environmental impacts, public involvement. It does not specifically mention battery chemistry.
• Section 17.B sets financial responsibility at $1 million for BESS with thermal runaway risk. A 2 MWh system and a 520 MWh system have the same threshold.
• Section 19 requires a study report within 3 years (~September 2027) evaluating technology changes and whether the financial responsibility levels are working.
• A community meeting is required before filing a permit application.

Governance gap

The City of Snoqualmie has no authority over this project even though Snoqualmie Ridge residents are the most directly affected. The site sits in the city’s Southwest Potential Annexation Area. If annexed, the city’s Comprehensive Plan — which designates this land for business park and mixed use, not industrial storage — would apply.

Three other King County cities (Covington, Enumclaw, Black Diamond) have passed BESS moratoriums.