The map presented by Sherburne County staff shows where the Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (MMPA) had planned to open a 3.5-megawatt, 30-acre solar farm along 209th Avenue NW in Big Lake Township, near the intersection with 145th Street NW.
More than 60 residents from Big Lake Township and the surrounding area packed the public seating at the Sherburne County Board of Commissioners meeting on April 7, 2026, to voice their opposition to the Minnesota Municipal Power Agency’s (MMPA) proposed Big Lake Township solar farm project.
The map presented by Sherburne County staff shows where the Minnesota Municipal Power Agency (MMPA) had planned to open a 3.5-megawatt, 30-acre solar farm along 209th Avenue NW in Big Lake Township, near the intersection with 145th Street NW.
More than 60 residents from Big Lake Township and the surrounding area packed the public seating at the Sherburne County Board of Commissioners meeting on April 7, 2026, to voice their opposition to the Minnesota Municipal Power Agency’s (MMPA) proposed Big Lake Township solar farm project.
The Minnesota Municipal Power Agency’s (MMPA) solar farm ambitions seem to have flown too close to the sun.
The Sherburne County Board of Commissioners voted on April 7 to deny MPPA’s requests for a 40-year interim use permit (IUP) and a Comprehensive Land Use Map amendment in order to build a 3.5-megawatt, 30-acre solar farm in the township.
The vote leaves MMPA, a publicly owned utility and a wholesale power supplier to Elk River Municipal Utilities, with land they bought for more than three times is appraised value they are unable to use for a solar farm, a project they had hoped to start building this spring or summer.
Matt Podhradsky, the chair of the MMPA Board of Directors, said the Board hasn’t had a chance to meet and discuss the county’s vote yet because their next meeting is on Tuesday.
However, he explained “this is the smallest of solar projects” out of several projects they are working on to meet state requirements that they provide 100% carbon-free electricity by 2040. As a result, he doesn’t feel the lost solar production and cost of the land will have a significant impact on their operations.
He estimated they are currently generating 51% of their power from a variety of renewable sources, including sources that don’t involve solar power.
John Dietz, chair of the Elk River Municipal Utilities Commission, sent a letter of support for the project prior to the vote. He was surprised the Board denied the project.
He echoed similar sentiments, stating “ERMU will still be able to provide safe, reliable and affordable power to our customers” and the project’s impact is small, although he noted the denial “makes it more challenging to meet the state’s 100% carbon free energy standard by 2040.”
Big Lake and Big Lake Township would not have received power from the proposed project.
More than 60 residents from Big Lake Township and the surrounding area packed the public seating in the Board’s meeting room to voice their opposition to the project.
During their previous March 24 meeting, the Board raised concerns about county staff’s ability to access a neighboring property, the project’s impact on wetlands on the property and the project’s impact on adjacent property values.
County staff confirmed at the April 7 meeting that they could access the neighboring property and that the project had completed all of the State of Minnesota’s wetland requirements after the state’s extensive review of the project in 2025.
The company plans to use wildlife-friendly fencing and the maximum de minimis exemption allowed under state law, which allows changing a small portion of the area if it has limited wetland impacts. It also received a state “no loss” determination for the remaining wetlands.
County staff also said the project’s impact on surrounding property values could range from “0% to -4% impact.”
During the public hearing portion of the Board’s discussion, Big Lake Township resident Mike Wirz presented the Board with a petition signed by 108 residents living in the area around the property opposing the project.
In the petition, they argued the project is not compatible with the surrounding residential zoning and would negatively impact adjacent properties.
Big Lake resident Bret Collier insisted that solar panels leave metal shavings and hazardous material on the land underneath it, making it no longer useable for farming.
“There is no benefit to allowing a solar (farm) to be built on this land except for the people who build it, who will ultimately walk away and leave us with a mess and land that can’t be used for anything else,” Collier said in his comments, which received a round of applause from the public seating area.
In their application, MMPA called the proposed site, about a quarter mile from Elk River city limits, “an ideal location,” because the land includes eight wetlands, a private ditch and a high water table — factors the company said limit its use for farming or housing.
Other public speakers reiterated their concerns about the impact on the surrounding wetland.
Elk River City Council member J. Brian Calva said the project won’t directly affect him, despite living close to the project, but he stands in solidarity with the residents opposing the project.
Tim Kelly, the attorney for the applicant, pushed back on the argument and pointed to the issue being addressed. He also insisted the local and national studies gathered by county staff don’t support speakers claims of significant property value impacts.
Lastly, he acknowledged the wetland concern and made the point that they could only have obtained their minimis exemption and “no loss” determination if the state felt the project wouldn’t hurt the wetland.
“So, there is no factual basis for a concern about an impact to wetlands to (support) denying this project,” Kelly said.
Elk River resident Mary Stewart, the vice chair of Elk River Municipal Utilities and a MMPA Board member, spoke in favor of the project.
Commissioner Gregg Felber and Andrew Hulse cited the county staff’s gathered studies as showing neighbor property value impacts depending on how close the project is to neighboring properties. They pointed to how close neighboring properties are in this case.
“I think that is a legal basis for us to vote to deny this issue,” Felber said.
Hulse also noted that nearby Elk River’s primary area of growth and development would spread out towards this area. He felt the solar farm would negatively impact that eventual development.
“I would expect more from a public utility to do their due diligence to find out what it is zoned. I don’t think they did that. I think they made the assumption we would permitting them,” Gray said.
He noted he’s been overseeing the permitting of solar farms since 2015 and this is the first time he’s encountered a developer or public utility purchasing land “before getting permission to build a solar farm.”
Gray noted the MPAA purchased it years ago for more than $600,000, over three times is appraised value. He explained that most solar farm project rent their land but a land purchase could be a significant cost saving over rent over the 40-year period they wanted approved.
“I think all of us would say that before you unload $600,000 for a property, we would find out if we could permit it, if it was zoned right,” Gray said. “We shouldn’t even be here doing this because the property shouldn’t have been purchased in the first place because it wasn’t zoned for it.”
Sherburne County Administrator Bruce Messelt noted the Board shouldn’t cite these factors when stating the reasons for denying the request, noting that state law does allow property owner to purchase land and seeking zoning changes after the fact.
Gray acknowledged the point and ended his comments.
The final reason for denial of the project cited the project’s impact on local wetlands and surrounding wildlife and the impacts on neighboring properties.
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