Wisconsin Rapids council to vote on building a solar energy farm

WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis. (WAOW) — The city of Wisconsin Rapids has been debating over the past few months whether or not to build a solar energy farm on city-owned land, and that debate is about to come to a conclusion. The city council will vote on whether or not to approve the plans at their meeting Tuesday evening.

According to our partners at WSAU, Mayor Matt Zacher says that the plan involves clearing some forested land that the city’s power utility already owns. According to city documents, that land is located near Whitrock Avenue on the city’s southeast side, north of the Ridges Golf Course. Zacher says “it would be a 40 acre parcel that would be cleared in the middle of the 80 acres, so it would be a 150 to 250 foot border around the entire array, and then within that 40 acres of cleared land there would be 25 acres of solar panels.”

He says that some are concerned about the proximity to one of the city’s wells, but he’s been told that it won’t be an issue. According to Zacher, the proposed development would provide the city with about one sixth of its daily energy usage. He says that while homeowners may see minor savings on their utility bill, the biggest impact would mean cheaper rates for manufacturing companies.