The wheels of progress on a proposed wind farm project that would stretch across dozens of miles southwest of the Tri-Cities are grinding slower after a judge recently delayed deadlines in lawsuits challenging the project.

The Washington State Supreme Court recently granted a request by the Yakama Nation and supported by Benton County commissioners and nonprofit Tri-Cities C.A.R.E.S. to delay their initial briefs until Feb. 20, more than a month later than initially scheduled.

The Supreme Court cited “the size and lack of organization of the record transmitted to this court from the trial court, and taking into account the unplanned absence of one of two attorneys for Yakama Nation.”

Scout Clean Energy, the Colorado-based company developing the project, opposed the deadline extension, arguing that the Yakama Nation’s request was “meritless.”

“Most issues in this appeal have been crystallized for over a year, and opponents have had access to the record for months, leaving no credible basis for their claim of insufficient time to prepare briefs,” the company wrote in court documents.

Scout officials have said the Horse Heaven Hills Energy Complex will create an expected 1,000 jobs during construction, generate 1,150 megawatts of power and contribute more than $250 million in local tax revenues throughout its 35-year operating lifespan.

Originally planned to have 220 turbines with a maximum height of 499 feet, Scout filed applications with the Federal Aviation Administration in August to instead install 141 turbines with a taller maximum blade height of 671 feet.

The Yakama Nation, Benton County commissioners and Tri-Cities C.A.R.E.S. have challenged the project since it was first proposed. They filed their lawsuits against Scout and the state in Thurston County Superior Court after the state’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council, or EFSEC, reversed a scaled back approval of it under pressure from then-Gov. Jay Inslee.

Judge Chris Lanese determined in mid-June the combined lawsuits should be heard by the Supreme Court.

The case was formally handed over to the state’s highest court in early December, weeks after EFSEC determined Scout could build primary components of the project within two miles of all but five endangered ferruginous hawk nests on the site. Scout told the council at the time that being unable to build closer to those five nests would eliminate nearly 200 megawatts of power generating capacity.

The Yakama Nation sought an extension of the Supreme Court’s filing deadlines before a schedule was provided. It argued that it did not have full access to the case record after the Thurston County judge transmitted it. One of the tribe’s two attorneys on the case, Jessica Houston, also unexpectedly went on medical leave.

“The proposed modified briefing schedule will avoid prejudice to Yakama Nation and undue hardship on its legal counsel by providing sufficient time for outside counsel to engage. Ms. Houston’s unforeseen absence for medical reasons is an extraordinary circumstance that further supports modification of the briefing schedule to ensure that Yakama Nation is able to brief the court in a manner that is consistent with the complexity and gravity of its claims,” the Yakama Nation wrote in court documents.

Scout wrote in opposition that it appreciated the tribe’s circumstances and was willing to support extending deadlines by two weeks, with allowance for the state to be allowed more opportunity to respond to those challenging the project. However, it said the Yakama Nation had rejected that offer and then never shared its intent to request a much longer extension.

Scout said the tribe’s request is inconsistent with state law requiring expeditious review of the case “and would create cascading delays, very likely jeopardizing timely resolution of this appeal by delaying oral argument past the court’s spring term.”

Scout officials have previously said they were hopeful legal challenges to the project could be resolved by mid-2026.

“We can’t move forward with anything until we have an unappealable decision,” Dave Kobus, a senior project manager with Scout, previously told the Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business.

Some movement on the project is continuing. EFSEC will review the mitigation plan for the project’s impacts on ferruginous hawk nests and public comment during a Jan. 21 meeting.