Wisconsin Rapids Council approves 5-megawatt solar array proposal

WWLC and its partner on the solar array project, Great Lakes Utilities, plan to begin construction in 2027 with activation set for later that year.

WISCONSIN RAPIDS – Wisconsin Rapids residents will see construction of a 5-megawatt solar array in 2027 on city-owned property located between Two Mile Avenue and Ridges Golf Course.

The Common Council on Jan. 20 voted 5-3 to its give final approval to Wisconsin Rapids Water Works and Lighting Commission (WWLC) to construct a solar array on nearly 80 acres of city-owned property addressed as 2211 Whitrock Ave. and 2520 Two Mile Ave. Alderpersons Dean Veneman (District 2), Jake Cattanach (District 5) and Michael Timm (District 7) voted “no.”

“This project has been thoroughly reviewed as being safe, smart, impactful and a good investment for our community, one that WWLC stands behind and so do I,” Ryan Austin, District 1 alderperson said in the meeting.

Residents first learned details of the proposal in mid-November before a series of meetings through December and January brought more information and further clarification on several aspects of the proposal including the material composition of the array and its supporting structures, impacts on nearby plants and wildlife, the layout of the site, and the national electrical energy market.

The proposal received an initial approval on a 6-2 vote from the Common Council in December, which sent the proposal back to the Planning Commission in January where it received unanimous approval for a zoning map amendment and support from a 5-2 vote for a conditional use permit.

The Finance Committee of the Common Council did not approve the project on Jan. 13 when two of its three members in attendance voted “no” on a motion to approve the project.

Council president and District 8 alderperson Madalyn Palmquist said she called seven other municipalities with solar arrays installed by developer OneEnergy Renewables, including two, the city of Elroy in Juneau County and the city of Arcadia in Trempealeau County, that have them built on properties in wellhead protection areas.

Each representative of the municipalities offered similar positive feedback about the arrays and the solar energy developer. The two with the arrays in the wellhead areas had not seen a change in water quality tests since they were in stalled in 2018, Palmquist said.

WWLC and its partner on the project, Great Lakes Utilities, will finalize the contract with OneEnergy in the upcoming months before materials are ordered with construction and activation set for 2027, Todd Weiler, WWLC general manager, told a Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune reporter.

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.