5MW solar array proposed for city-owned land in Wisconsin Rapids. What you need to know.

The proposed solar array would be built by the end of 2027 on property between Two Mile Avenue and Ridges Golf Course. A public hearing is set for Dec. 1.

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – Residents received more information Nov. 17 about a proposed solar array within city limits.

Wisconsin Rapids Water Works and Lighting Commission (WWLC) announced a plan to partner with Great Lakes Utilities (GLU) to build by the end of 2027 a 5-megawatt solar array on city-owned property located between Two Mile Avenue and Ridges Golf Course. Solar project developer OneEnergy Renewables (OER) would perform the installation, according to a Nov. 17 news release.

The project would produce enough power for about 1,336 average households, according to information provided by the utility companies. The project would use about 27 acres of two properties whose total area is about 76.6 acres and which the city has owned since at least 1999, according to online property records. The project would produce about 10.5 million kilowatt-hours of electricity annually, according to the release.

GLU is a municipal electric company formed in 2000 “to obtain low cost and reliable electric power for its members,” according to the company’s website. The company meets a demand of a peak of about 400 megawatts and 2 million megawatt-hours annually. The array in Wisconsin Rapids would add about 0.5% of electricity generation capacity to the regional utility company.

Along with WWLC, other municipal utility companies that are members of GLU include Bangor Municipal Utility, Clintonville Utilities, Cornell Municipal Electric & Water Utilities, Village of Gresham’s Electric Utilities, Kiel Electric Utility, Manitowoc Public Utilities, Marshfield Utilities, Medford Electric Utility, Rice Lake Utilities, Shawano Municipal Utilities, Stratford Water and Electric, and Trempealeau Municipal Utilities. The company is based out of the Marshfield Utilities office.

OER would develop and oversee operations of the solar array project during its 30-40 year lifespan and be responsible for maintenance, repairs, and removal at the project’s end-of-life phase, according to the release. The company has developed 79 other projects in Wisconsin and surrounding states producing a total of 330 megawatts and is working to develop similar projects in other GLU-participating communities.

A map of the proposed solar array project reveals only a portion of the forested properties removed of their trees while maintaining significant buffers from major thoroughfares and the golf course. The properties each hold a wellhead for city water collection, which retain their zoning setbacks within the project area.

Besides electricity generation, other benefits of the project listed by the companies include grid stabilization and energy independence, job creation, educational opportunities for schools and community groups, addition of pollinator habitats, and grazing opportunities for area grazing animal producers.

Residents can learn more at public hearings for rezoning and conditional use permit requests at the next Planning Commission meeting scheduled for 4 p.m. Dec. 1 at 444 W. Grand Ave. Public comments may be submitted prior to the hearings by contacting the Community Development Department at 715-421-8228 or CommunityDevelopment@wirapids.gov.

Erik Pfantz covers local government and education in central Wisconsin for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin and values his background as a rural Wisconsinite. Contact him at epfantz@usatodayco.com.