Permitting Status

No active permit application as of April 2026. Jupiter Power has indicated they plan to file a clearing and grading permit within approximately one month, which will initiate SEPA review.

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, plus a sixth PSE-owned parcel (9030) providing the generation tie-line corridor. They filed a Commercial Site Development permit in December 2025, then canceled it in February 2026 because King County required issued-for-construction drawings that Jupiter could not produce within the county’s timeline. Jupiter Power held a voluntary community open house on March 17, 2026 that drew a standing-room-only crowd. No new application has been filed. Jupiter Power has indicated a clearing and grading permit is forthcoming, which will initiate SEPA.

King County released the full CMST25-0005 application package and related communications on April 13, 2026, in response to a public records request. Eight findings from that release, including the 410 MW / 1,640 MWh figure on the civil plans, the zero-margin sound compliance case, and the all-discipline Notice of Incomplete Application, are summarized at What King County’s Records Show.

Regulatory framework

King County Ordinance 19824 (announcement, September 2024, sponsored by Councilmember Sarah Perry) established the first regulatory framework for BESS in unincorporated King County, covering 97% of the county’s unincorporated land. It was the first ordinance of its kind in the region. Cascadia Ridge is one of the first projects to move through it.

Before this ordinance, BESS fell under the generic “Utility Facility” category in King County Code, which was a permitted use in all zones with no BESS-specific development conditions or safety standards. Facilities could be placed up to the property line. The ordinance added setbacks, fire code requirements, financial responsibility, fire district coordination, and other conditions that would not otherwise have applied.

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 14 days.

What’s in the ordinance

The ordinance is new and Cascadia Ridge is an early test. Some of its provisions may need adjustment as real projects reveal how the framework works in practice.

• Condition 29 requires an alternatives analysis: location, demand management, social and economic impacts, environmental impacts, public involvement. It does not currently address battery chemistry.
• Section 17.B sets financial responsibility at $1 million for BESS with thermal runaway risk. The same threshold applies regardless of facility size. See insurance and financial responsibility for context on what that covers.
• Section 19 builds in a review. It requires a study report within 3 years (~September 2027) evaluating technology changes and whether the financial responsibility levels are working.
• There is no community meeting requirement. A proposed amendment (Amendment 1 to Striking Amendment S3) would have required one under K.C.C. 20.20.035, but it was not offered at the full council vote and is not part of the adopted ordinance.

SEPA process

The State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) requires environmental review before King County can approve the project. Jupiter Power must submit a SEPA Environmental Checklist covering impacts to earth, air, water, plants, animals, environmental health, land use, transportation, and public services.

King County’s Acting Permitting Division Director confirmed on April 10, 2026 that if the clearing and grading permit triggers SEPA, the review will cover the full scope of the 130 MW BESS project, not just the grading work. The SEPA checklist and comment window will address fire risk, toxic emissions, noise, water contamination, and all other project-level impacts.

King County then issues a threshold determination:

• Determination of Non-Significance (DNS): No significant adverse impacts; project proceeds.
• Mitigated DNS (MDNS): Impacts can be mitigated with conditions attached to the permit.
• Determination of Significance (DS): Requires a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) — a detailed, public study of all environmental impacts and alternatives.

A DS and full EIS is the strongest outcome for the community. It means independent analysis of fire risk, toxic emissions, noise, traffic, stormwater, habitat impacts, and cumulative effects. It also means additional public comment periods (scoping, and 30 days for the draft EIS).

King County publishes a Notice of Application and opens a 14-day public comment period. At the close of that window, King County issues the threshold determination. There is no further comment period after the determination – if King County issues an inadequate DNS, the comment record becomes the basis for a court appeal. Comments should be specific and cite environmental impacts the checklist underestimates. This is when residents can argue that a DNS or MDNS is inadequate for a 130 MW facility adjacent to thousands of homes, fish-bearing streams connected to a salmon-bearing watershed, and parkland.

A full EIS requires analysis of alternatives (WAC 197-11-440), including alternative sites. PSE’s own Energy Storage System Location Study (2021, filed as Exhibit I in UTC Docket UE-210220) screened all ~382 PSE substations and identified 15 recommended ESS locations. Mt. Si had been operational since 2012 but was screened out on the merits. The nearest Snoqualmie-area substation was rated high risk and rejected. See full analysis.

Given the scale and site sensitivity, pushing for a full EIS is the most impactful thing residents can do during the SEPA window. Read our guide on how to write an effective SEPA comment. For context on how SEPA has played out at other Washington BESS projects, see SEPA outcomes for Washington BESS projects.

EFSEC opt-in

Washington’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) provides a “one-stop” siting process for energy facilities. Standalone BESS facilities don’t require EFSEC, but developers can voluntarily opt in. If Jupiter Power opts into EFSEC:

• King County permitting would be preempted entirely
• The decision would route to the governor’s office
• Local jurisdiction, including Ordinance 19824’s requirements, would not apply
• The process would still include public comment but at the state level

Jupiter Power’s current language (“county permit application”) suggests they intend to go through King County. But the Kingfisher BESS project near Covington pursued EFSEC certification after local opposition intensified. Residents should be aware this is a possibility.

Governance gap

The City of Snoqualmie has no permitting authority over this project, even though Snoqualmie Valley residents, on the Ridge and in the surrounding unincorporated area, are the most directly affected. The city does have other leverage: it controls the PSE franchise agreement, is a party to development agreements on adjacent PSE corridor parcels, and can formally participate in the SEPA review. The site sits in the city’s Southwest Potential Annexation Area. If annexed, the city’s Comprehensive Plan would apply instead of King County’s.

The city’s own Snoqualmie 2044 Comprehensive Plan, adopted unanimously by City Council on December 9, 2024, includes policies that were designed to prevent exactly this situation:

• Goal LU-3: “Pursue annexations that implement the future land use map designations.”
• Policy LU-3.1: “Enter into interlocal agreements with King County for annexations when feasible, including the application of contingent zoning to potential annexation areas.”
• Policy ED-3.9: “Preserve the Master Planned Business Park land use designation, focused on office, research and development, and light manufacturing/industrial uses, within the City’s potential annexation area (PAA).”

The Planning Commission developed these policies during the 2023 comp plan update, forwarded them to City Council, and Council adopted them. As of March 2026, no interlocal annexation agreement with King County is in place and no contingent zoning has been applied to the PAA. The comp plan envisions this land as a business park. King County zones it UR (Urban Reserve), where industrial battery storage is a permitted use. Jupiter Power is expected to file a new permit application with King County, and the city will have no role in the permitting decision.

Three other King County cities (Covington, Enumclaw, Black Diamond) have passed BESS moratoriums. See other BESS projects in King County for context on what happened near Covington.