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By: USA Today Network//January 6, 2026//
THE BLUEPRINT:
- The Wisconsin Rapids Planning Commission approved rezoning and conditional use permit for a solar array on city-owned land.
- Project includes 5-megawatt solar array led by Wisconsin Rapids Water works and Lighting Commission.
- Project planners answered questions about environmental safeguards and native plantings.
- The full Common Council will review the project on Jan. 20.
By Erik Pfantz
USA Today Network
WISCONSIN RAPIDS – The Planning Commission approved on Jan. 5 two land use requests for the purpose of constructing a 5-megawatt solar array on city-owned land located between Two Mile Avenue and Ridges Golf Course.
The Commission voted 7-0 and 5-2, respectively, to approve requests for rezoning and a conditional use permit from Wisconsin Rapids Water Works and Lighting Commission (WW&LC) in partnership with Great Lakes Utilities (GLU) to build the solar array at properties addressed as 2211 Whitrock Ave. and 2520 Two Mile Ave.
GLU is a municipal electric company made up of 13 other municipal utility companies located across Wisconsin including WW&LC.
The conditional use permit was approved with additional clauses including a requirement to build an 8-foot security fence around the array’s perimeter and requiring additional groundwater testing conducted by a third party.
Project leaders address concerns from residents and commission members
The Common Council gave an initial approval on Dec. 16 to a letter of intent to continue planning the project into January. The Planning Commission allowed on Jan. 5 additional comments from meeting attendees even though the public hearings on the items were held in December.
About six out of over two dozen interested local residents in attendance spoke to repeat concerns related to the removal of trees from the properties, vehicle traffic into the property, the possible visibility of the panels from surrounding properties and maintaining the wellhead protection area on the property.
Todd Weiler, WW&LC general manager, and Stanley Minnick, solar developer OneEnergy Renewables development manager, spoke at various times during the meeting to address concerns raised by both meeting attendees and commission members. Both Weiler and Minnick investigated concerns raised in previous meetings regarding wellhead protection and possible toxic materials used in the arrays and were not able to verify a cause for concern, they said.
OneEnergy uses panels made of polycrystalline silicon glass in aluminum frames mounted to steel racks, none of which are toxic chemicals, Minnick explained in the meeting. The glass panels are made of tempered glass, like automobile windshield glass, which means they can withstand hail up to an inch and a quarter in size traveling at 50 mph.
The commission unanimously supported the change in zoning to a “conservancy” district, which will offer further protection to the wellhead protection area as it prevents most kinds of development in the district. Weiler clarified that the DNR’s biggest concern with that wellhead protection area is in regard to nitrogen-related compounds that come from a variety of sources, primarily fertilizers, but also pine trees and their fallen and decaying needles.
OneEnergy plans to plant native prairie grasses and other native plants on the about 40 acres of cleared area out of the total 76.6 acres included in the two properties, which are likely to improve groundwater collected by the wellhead in that area, Weiler said in the meeting. These plantings are also likely to draw more birds and other wildlife than what currently use the property.
Questions regarding finances, site maintenance and decommissioning, and insurance were also addressed by Weiler and Minnick.
The “Behind the Meter” solar project is intended to help offset projected electricity cost increases due to factors such as industrial growth, increasing electrification of vehicles and home goods, and data centers, Weiler explained. The project will reduce the amount of electricity the utility companies will need to purchase from the grid during peak times, ultimately reducing costs for ratepayers.
Additionally, WW&LC will be able to advertise overall lower electricity rates to developers seeking to construct industrial or commercial projects that may lead to more jobs and further economic development opportunities in the future, Weiler said.
The value of the solar array materials is more than the cost to remove them so, if removal ever becomes a necessity, cost will not be a concern, Minnick said.
What happens next?
The Finance Committee will discuss a $100,000 contribution to the project at 5 p.m. Jan. 13. The full Common Council will again consider all three items at its next regular meeting at 6 p.m. Jan. 20 at City Hall, 444 W. Grand Ave.
More information about the proposal can be found on the city’s solar project website.
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