Otter Tail County Board greenlights solar panel project on Rose Lake

OTTER TAIL COUNTY — A ground-mounted solar collection system with 200 panels on Rose Lake was approved by the Otter Tail County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, June 24.

The Mark and Karman Rheault Trust applied for the conditional use permit application to construct two ground-mounted photovoltaic systems at 36333 Rose Lake Drive, Frazee. Photovoltaic refers to the process the system uses to convert light into electricity.

The application stated that half of the solar panels will be for residential use and the other half will be for commercial use. The application did not state if the commercial use meant for a business or selling electricity back to the grid.

Otter Tail County Land and Resource Management Director Chris LeClair informed commissioners that the conditional use permit pertained to the county’s renewable energy ordinance, and not the shoreline ordinance. He explained the county ordinance states that if the output of a renewable energy source is more than 40 kilowatts, it requires a conditional use permit. He stated that he believes the proposed system on Rose Lake would have an output of about 80 kilowatts.

In the County Board packet were notes from the June 11 County Planning Commission meeting, where the request was initially reviewed. Concerns were expressed in an email regarding the visibility of the panels from the lake and potential impacts to eagles and other wildlife that nest in the area. It was noted that no one at the planning commission meeting spoke for or against the conditional use application.

County commissioners also approved a conditional use permit for William and Rebecca Seaberg for their business, Lovin Lake Life, in the southwest corner off 505th Street and 397th Avenue, Frazee.

The permit application is to build a commercial painting and pre-finishing shop with a showroom that would be available for viewing by appointment only. The commission approved the permit with the condition that the soil treatment area for the septic system must be protected with iron posts and a snow fence.

It was noted that the business plans to install septic systems with holding tanks for commercial use, as well as a system for bathroom use. The required snow fence is for the bathroom facilities.

The board documents stated the business location will be on 2.5 acres. Because it is within 1,000 feet of Silver Lake, a conditional use permit was required.

The commission was informed that during the planning commission meeting, no one spoke for or against the application.

Barbie Porter is a reporter for the Detroit Lakes Tribune and the Perham Focus. Email story ideas to Barbie at bporter@perhamfocus.com.