A solar farm near Jefferson.
A solar farm near Jefferson.
JEFFERSON – After a couple years of debates and discussions, solar power is officially in the Jefferson County zoning ordinance.
During its meeting Tuesday, the County Board of Supervisors passed a solar power amendment to the existing zoning ordinance, concluding the two-year legislative process.
The amendment creates a specific section in the code for solar energy systems and conditional uses on agricultural land.
“Small or large solar energy systems (SES) must preserve prime agricultural land and utilize 25% or less prime soil in the entire project area,” the code reads. “An excess of the 25% can be permitted on a case-by-case basis following review and approval by the Planning and Zoning Committee if proper mitigation procedures are put in place.”
It also establishes local guidelines for how solar projects must be built and operated.
“To date, the Planning and Zoning Committee has reviewed at least seven solar energy developments: three projects over 100 megawatts, four projects under 100 megawatts, and continues to receive inquiries about future developments,” said District 23 Supervisor George Jaeckel. “In addition to large-scale solar energy system, accessory solar continues to be a popular addition to residential and commercial properties.”
Jefferson County officials emphasized the necessity of establishing effective solar legislation.
“Every county should have these ordinances in place as soon as possible, due to widespread demand, due to data centers, among other things that are happening in the world right now,” said District 16 Supervisor Meg Turville-Heitz. “The ordinances not only provide expectations to smaller scale developers of commercial systems, they are providing leverage and negotiations to large-scale systems. More importantly, there is currently no state statute that guides the battery energy storage systems, something being used more and more by solar, data centers, and other businesses.”
However, there were also worries. Some regarded the legislation as restrictive, while others thought its guidelines were not explicit enough.
“I have multiple concerns on this,” said District 5 Supervisor James Braughler. “I am constantly battling between the landowners of private property, the business owners trying to make a living, and county zoning and where those three interact with each other. I’m just afraid we’re adding to the minutia and making difficult things, and I’m just not sure how I feel about this.”
Turville-Heitz, though supportive of the solar amendment overall, expressed concern over the use of prime agricultural land for solar projects.
“I think the prime ag land is non recoverable,” said Turville-Heitz. “We can never return that land to its form of use, if in 20 years our needs for farmlands have changed.”
Turville-Heitz went on to detail two proposed changes to the amendment before it was officially passed, in order to safeguard the integrity of any agricultural land used for solar development.
“Based on the experiences of other municipalities facing fires and leaks from battery energy storage systems, I’d like to offer two changes based on Massachusetts statutes – again, Wisconsin has no statutes addressing this,” said Turville-Heitz. “The addition says an applicant may be required to test the soils for metals and volatile organic compounds, and PAH is contamination that have been typical of fire and leak hazards, to establish baseline soil conditions. Item three would reiterate cleanup standards, including sampling for residual contamination, and return the site to baseline conditions if we have a record of them, or ensure that the conditions fall below state and federal regulatory limits for contaminants.”
County Board Chair Steven J. Nass commended Turville-Heitz for her work, and agreed her changes should be added to the amendment.
“These are things that we just didn’t think of, so I appreciate the time and effort that you put in,” said Nass. “From my standpoint, I think these are good additions to the ordinance.”
District 30 Supervisor Walt Christensen and Jaeckel both agreed with Turville-Heitz’s perspective on the effects of solar on prime agricultural land.
“On the prime soil being returned, it won’t be the same – I’ve seen it first-hand,” said Jaeckel. “I’m glad that we actually got some input. I’m willing to stand by this, and I think we need an ordinance to at least be able to regulate it. Without an ordinance, we have nothing to regulate anything with.”
The board unanimously voted by voice to enter Turville-Heitz’s changes into the proposed solar amendment. Later, the solar amendment ordinance passed 24-4, with one abstaining and one absent.
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Several area solar projects are currently in various stages across the County, including:
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