Earlier this year, supporters and nearby residents of the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge were stunned by a plan from a Florida company, BrightNight Energy, to build a Battery Energy Storage System contiguous to the Refuge's Onion Flats Unit. The high voltage lines are proposed to cross a wetland frequented by thousands of migratory waterfowl year. More than one hundred residents - all in stark opposition - flooded a PGE meeting in March to express opposition of the project, which would include a land swap leading to ten 115-130 foot tall high voltage towers.
Despite uniform opposition from residents and surrounding cities, the land swap - which BrightNight Energy cynically refers to as a donation - has moved forward after approval by the head of the Fish and Wildlife Service, an appointee of the Trump administration. In August, as a condition of applying for a permit from the City of Sherwood, the next step in advancing this project, BrightNight hosted an open house at Sherwood Middle School. This coincided with a media campaign intended to disguise a swap of degraded land in need of significant habitat restoration as a donation.
What comes next? If the project is ultimately approved and the high voltage lines are built across this wetland, it will effectively box in the wetland with wires - existing wires already span two sides of Onion Flats, and were installed prior to this area becoming part of the Refuge. The new wires will span a section of wetland that is a flight path for birds moving from the main Refuge unit across 99W to Onion Flats. It's likely that hundreds, if not thousands, of migratory birds will be killed annually as a result.
At some point in the coming weeks, BrightNight will likely be able to apply for their permit from the City of Sherwood. While the project has received a provisional permit from Washington County, it's not clear whether they've yet met the provisions outlined by the County. What can you do now? Continue to express your opposition with elected officials in surrounding cities, particularly Sherwood and Tualatin, Washington County, and the state. TRK and our partners will send updates via social media and newsletters when we know our next steps to oppose this project. Thank you for being a voice for the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge!
