Palouse for Sale

black and white photo of solitary person walking the Palouse

Harvest Hills isn’t here to invest in the Palouse. They’re here to sell it.

If you want proof, look no further than Shane Roche, Harvest Hills’ frontman and friendly messenger. He’ll tell you the project brings progress and opportunities to the Palouse. He’ll insist it’s good for the county, good for landowners, and just the beginning of a bright, industrial future.

But Roche knows the truth: Harvest Hills isn’t building for Whitman County. They’re building for the next buyer. It’s a tactic as old as it is cynical. Develop the project, flip it for profit, and let someone else deal with the fallout—because once the contracts are signed and the turbines are spinning, Harvest Hills is gone.


The Business Model is Cynical—And It Works

This isn’t Steelhead’s first project, and it won’t be their last. The plan is always the same:

  1. Pitch the project: Talk about jobs, clean energy, and new tax revenue. Smile.
  2. Build the project: Lock landowners into decades-long contracts. Get the turbines running.
  3. Sell the project: Hand it off to a utility or hedge fund that doesn’t know Kamiak Butte from a strip mall parking lot.

The landowners? Trapped.
The community? Stuck.
Harvest Hills—and Shane Roche? Out.


When It’s Someone Else’s Problem

Once the project is flipped, Roche and his team are off the hook. Noise complaints, blade failures, oil leaks? Good luck getting a hold of a human being. Concerns about property values or soil contamination? Take it up with the investor group on Wall Street. Good luck getting a straight answer.

And let’s not forget decommissioning. Who’s paying to take down those turbines when they fail? Who’s cleaning up the mess? Harvest Hills won’t be around to answer that question—and Roche certainly won’t be here to explain himself.


The Palouse Deserves Better

The Palouse isn’t just another development opportunity. It’s not just empty space waiting for corporate branding. It’s a community. A legacy. And turning it into an industrial site just to sell it to the highest bidder is an insult to everyone who calls this place home.

Shane Roche doesn’t see that. Harvest Hills doesn’t care. To them, the Palouse is just a deal to close. And when the project is flipped—when the hills are dotted with turbines and the damage is done—the people left behind will be left asking:

Why did we trust them?


Progress isn’t progress when it’s built to be sold. And anyone telling you otherwise is just selling something.

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