In 1976, the initial site certification agreement (SCA) authorized construction of the Satsop Nuclear Project (Washington Nuclear Power projects No. 3 and No.5, WNP 3/5), which were never completed. In 1996, the Council recommended the approval of an amendment to the Satsop Nuclear Project (WNP 3/5) site certification agreement (SCA) to allow for construction of a 450-megawatt (MW) gas turbine project. An amendment in 1999 removed the nuclear power projects from the SCA. In April 2001, EFSEC again approved an SCA amendment to license the current 650 MW gas turbine project. Construction started on the combustion turbine project in September 2001 but stopped in September 2002 at approximately 56% completion.
In April 2005, EFSEC amended the SCA to reflect the sale of the project to Grays Harbor Energy, LLC, a subsidiary of Invenergy, Inc. Construction began again in February 2007 with commercial operation starting in April 2008. On October 30, 2009, Grays Harbor Energy requested an amendment to the project SCA in order to incorporate a 650 MW increase in the facility's generating capacity (to a total maximum output of approximately 1,300 MW), a change of the facility's name to Grays Harbor Energy Center, and a 10-acre expansion of the site.