The proposed solar project in Oakland would be 35 acres on Kornstedt Farms west of Hope Lake Road.
The proposed solar project in Oakland would be 35 acres on Kornstedt Farms west of Hope Lake Road.
The Town of Oakland’s planning committee heard a pitch for a new solar farm west of Hope Lake Road, and recommended the town board support the project with a few conditions.
Kornstedt Farms LLC agreed to lease 35 acres of its 350 acre farm to OneEnergy Renewables to operate a six megawatt solar farm in the Town of Oakland.
Peter Murphy from OneEnergy Renewables said at the May 5 planning committee meeting that their office is based out of Madison, and the project will bring local workers to Oakland. He added the project will generate $30,000 in annual revenue: $17,000 to the county and $13,000 to the town.
The energy from the solar panels will also go towards powering local homes and businesses.
“We’re producing electricity locally that can be consumed locally,” Murphy said.
Plan commissioner Courtney Reed Jenkins said, at this point, the town doesn’t have the power to fight a solar proposal that’s approved by the state, “so our job is to figure out the conditions” that make it better for the town.
Town board chair and plan commissioner Laura Payne agreed.
“We really cannot have ordinances that restrict solar from coming in; we can’t really just ban it, so yes our best course of action as the town and the county is to find ways to protect our citizens and the town itself,” Payne said.
The planning committee shared five conditions that they recommended to the town board that the town could then share with the county for the project.
These included regulating hours of operation to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and no work on Sundays.
The town also requested the project be complete by Dec. 31, 2027, or paused so the town could reconstruct Hope Lake Road.
Payne said Oakland received a grant from the Department of Transportation for 70% of the reconstruction project, but decided to wait until 2028 when they’d want the solar project to be completed.
Additionally, the town requested OneEnergy Renewables provide training to the appropriate fire department for potential emergencies.
Fourth, the planning committee noted concerns about the look of the project, and whether it was visible from nearby highways.
Murphy said initially he wasn’t planning a vegetative screen around the project as the nearest neighbor was 200 feet away, and neighbors hadn’t requested one.
But plan commission chair Jim Rowe asked if Murphy could consider more bushes or trees around the project to help it blend into the community.
“It would make a big difference driving down the road,” Rowe said.
Murphy said they did take aesthetics into consideration in the original design, and set the project back from the road.
Still, the planning committee added vegetation and visibility as the fourth condition.
Some residents noted some concerns with the project during public comment.
Town board member Joy Graffin said she didn’t believe the project would actually bring much benefit to Oakland. She said that $13,000 is a small amount of revenue, and not all energy customers will get service from the farm as it will only serve We Energies customers.
“I can’t think of any other business that would benefit from this,” Graffin said.
Linda Dieckhoff, who lives adjacent to the property, said she wasn’t against the project, she was just surprised she wasn’t notified of the project.
“We’re not against solar. This sounds like a good project more than something bigger, but maybe down the road you could extend the radius for notifying people of something like this,” Dieckhoff said.
Reed Jenkins said it was “disconcerting” to hear that Dieckhoff wasn’t notified and asked if she wanted to request any particular hours or screening within the conditions.
Dieckhoff said she wasn’t worried about that.
Jerry Kuhl, who lives in Oakland, said he supports the project. Like Dieckhoff, he was also pleased that the project is not large.
Kuhl said he’s “just really here to support a neighbor that I think is doing the right thing,” adding that he’s known the farmers who own the land for years.
Next, Payne said the town could work with an attorney to put together conditions to submit to the county. The town board would also need to consider the project, which Payne said would likely happen at the June meeting.
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