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CARLTON — Carlton County will lease 40 acres of land at the Moose Lake Carlton County Airport for the development of a solar field.
On Monday, the Carlton County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a 25-year lease to US Solar Development, a Minneapolis-based renewable energy company.
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The firm will lease the land for $400 per acre annually as the field is being constructed and $900 an acre once it is complete, totaling $36,000 in annual revenue for the county, according to County Engineer JinYeene Neumann.
The proposal received praise from Carlton County resident Tom Karas, who spoke before the board as a “recovering solar developer.”
“There’s probably not a better solar company in the Midwest that you could enter into a lease with than US Solar,” said Karas, who previously worked for the company.
“They have a great reputation for community engagement (and) being involved in their projects. I just can’t say enough about them,” he added.
Karas noted the company’s work in agrivoltaics, where land leased by a solar field is also utilized for agriculture, such as honey production and livestock grazing. US Solar has piloted several such projects at its existing solar sites.
The field will be on the southern edge of the airport property. Though the land is administered by Carlton County, Pine County’s border runs through the airport. Though Neumann initially stated most of the field would actually be within Pine County, there seemed to be some confusion among county officials about whether that is correct. Neither Neumann nor County Administrator Dennis Genereau responded to requests for clarification.
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