LETTER: Solar plan offers clean energy, cash for town and land owners

To Ozaukee Press:

Ranger Power has been working over the past 18 months to determine whether our Onion River Solar project in the northwestern portion of the Town of Holland is viable and if landowners would be interested in making land available.         

Onion River Solar is a utility-scale solar facility that will provide clean, renewable electricity generation to the region, while providing significant environmental and economic benefits in the local community. The project would be located on land offered by property owners who choose to participate and would generate power with photovoltaic panels like those used on homes or commercial buildings. The panels will be mounted on racks that will rotate throughout the day to track the sun and allow panels to capture more of its energy.

We expect the 150-megawatt project to include 1,000 to 1,200 acres, but electrical equipment will cover less than a third of the project footprint, and the other two-thirds will be open grasses. Each year, Onion River would produce more electricity than that used by tens of thousands of households.

All land within the project boundary will be vegetated, including pollinator friendly seed mixes in certain areas. For safety, each project area with generating panels will be enclosed in a woven-wire deer fence, as required by the electrical safety code.

The project responds to demand from Wisconsin utilities that are seeking solar generation to help replace aging coal-fired generation infrastructure. Around the state, several such plants are being retired, including in Sheboygan County. Utility interest is prompted by an extraordinary drop in the cost of utility-scale solar of about 90% in the past decade. Solar now competes head to head with other electric generation technologies.

The project requires approval from the Wisconsin Public Service Commission, which regulates electric generating facilities and utilities.

Panels and related equipment will be a minimum of 50 feet from property lines of non-participating parcels and a minimum of 150 feet from any house.

The Town of Holland will receive an estimated $250,000 annually and Sheboygan County will receive an estimated $350,000 annually through the Wisconsin Shared Revenue Utility Aid Program. In addition, leased land payments will provide income for local farmers while protecting agricultural land for future generations. Pollinator-friendly habitat can help nearby farms and reduced agricultural chemical use can help land and water quality. In addition, individuals in the region will benefit from reduced air emissions associated with electric generation.

Emily Straka
Ranger Power
Jefferson, Wis.
Editor’s note: The Town of Holland surrounds the Village of Cedar Grove and abuts the north border of Ozaukee County.