Town in Oconto County pushing back against incoming solar panel project

TOWN OF MORGAN, Wis. (WBAY) — Town of Morgan officials remain concerned as energy resource company NextEra continues to move forward with plans for a 1,000-acre solar panel project.

This project is under the jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, which town officials say takes away much of their power to stop this project.

NextEra canceled their appearance at a town discussion on Tuesday night, due to online threats from surrounding townships.

Morgan’s town chair is asking the company to come answer questions directly from their community before any decisions are made.

“They want to see you, and they want to interact with you, and that just doesn’t work on the screen, and their voices haven’t been heard, so that’s a problem,” Morgan town chair Lori Witthuhn says.

NextEra shared a statement Friday afternoon, addressing their intent to move forward with their ‘Fox Solar’ project:

“We remain committed to developing the Fox Solar project in Oconto County. The project is currently going through the application process with the Wisconsin Public Service Commission. We respect the regulatory process and are working closely with the Commission throughout this review.

We are excited about the prospect of delivering a project that will provide approximately $12.5 million in tax revenue to the local community while delivering reliable energy to the local community and the state of Wisconsin.“

A NextEra spokesperson also tells Action 2 News they plan to return to the county later this month.

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