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JAMESTOWN — Officials with New Leaf Energy met with stakeholders and landowners on Monday, Oct. 19, to talk about the proposed Buffalo solar project in Fried Township and its benefits, including additional tax revenue.
“The intention of today’s meeting is to try to get some momentum with the constituents of the township and the greater public to have the township make a decision on what to do with the project,” said William Dean, lead project developer with New Leaf Energy.
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New Leaf Energy held an open house meeting on Monday at the Gladstone Inn & Suites in Jamestown. The meeting was an opportunity for community members to speak with the New Energy Leaf team about the proposed Buffalo solar project in Fried Township.
New Leaf Energy is working with Fried Township to permit, develop and build a 247-megawatt solar project north of Jamestown. The estimated cost of the Buffalo solar project — a solar farm — is $370 million.
The Buffalo solar project would be located on about 1,600 acres of land north of Jamestown in Fried Township.
Solar panels would be placed on land along North Dakota Highway 20 and on land north of 29th Street Southeast east of the highway. The solar farm would connect to Otter Tail Power Co.’s high-voltage power grid near its substation located about 7 miles north of Jamestown.
Dean said the next step is for Fried Township to amend its ordinance that is more than 20 years old. He said Fried Township has the authority to permit the project and would need to change its governing rules and laws to accommodate a solar energy conversion facility.
“Once we have the ordinance in place where it lays out all the requirements to build a solar facility, then we apply for the permit,” he said. “They would ideally, for our sake, pass and approve the permit sometime at the end of this year, early next year.”
Dean said New Leaf Energy received a draft ordinance from Fried Township Board in August for solar energy conversion facilities that didn’t include any specifications on a setback distance. He said Stutsman County’s ordinance on solar energy conversion facilities has very specific requirements that will protect the residents while also allowing for that type of development and covers more area than the township.
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The Stutsman County Commission approved amendments to the county zoning ordinance for solar energy conversion facilities in February that include a setback distance of 1,320 feet, or a quarter mile, from occupied residences.
“It affects a lot more people, and we found that ordinance to be workable, developable, but also protect the interest of the community and those who are going to be next to it without infringing on their well-being on the land,” he said.
Dean said the Buffalo solar project would be “100% buildable” with the half-mile setback.
If Fried Township permits the Buffalo solar project, New Leaf Energy would then work with the North Dakota Public Service Commission to approve the project in 2027. After that, New Leaf Energy will need to line up financing for the project.
“That takes a while,” he said. “You have to line up the engineering, procurement, construction permits.”
He said construction wouldn’t begin until the end of 2028 or early 2029. Construction would take 16 to 18 months.
Allen Falk, chairman of the Fried Township Board, said the board would make a decision as soon as it receives information it requested from New Leaf Energy. He said safety is a priority and the township wants to ensure the project won’t affect the water.
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Falk said the setback distance wasn’t included in the draft ordinance because the township board is researching what that could be. He said New Leaf Energy has been working on the project for three years, and the township board found out about the project in November 2025.
Vicky Simonson, who owns a small portion of land where the solar project would go, said she and the other landowners wanted to view the photos of what the viewshed would potentially look like after the project is complete.
“We wanted to look at the timeline and make sure that you know everything was going in line with the timeline that we were hoping that we’re getting everything agreed upon,” she said. “We’re the landowners, so we want to make sure we do everything right. We’ve done a ton of research into this even before this point in time to make sure that this is the best use for our land because it’s generational legacy land too. So we want to be the best stewards we can.”
Dean previously said larger trees that are more dense would be planted about 250 feet from North Dakota Highway 20 and potentially 29th Street Southeast to block the view of the solar panels. The solar farm would have grasses native to the area as well.
Simonson said the landowners have been connected by other solar companies but never moved forward with contracts with them because they weren’t ready to engage with the companies at the time. She said New Leaf Energy has been a good partner that helps the landowners understand why it is beneficial to have a solar farm on it.
“We are needing more electricity,” she said. “So, this is a great way to help generate more electricity for the state, and it’s just we felt that it was a good opportunity to explore further.”
Simonson said her father and uncle have been good stewards of their land, which is better now than it was before.
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“They also made sure that when things progressed in the community, that they help allow things like the water lines coming in for rural water,” she said. “They allowed that at no charge in the middle of their field.”
She said her father and uncle also allowed for transmission lines to make sure people have electricity at their farms.
Dean said New Leaf Energy has held many public meetings to address any concerns of the Buffalo solar project.
“I would say we have a lot more support than opposition,” he said.
He said North Dakota needs clean, cheap energy and solar energy is the cheapest form of electricity in the U.S.
“This would be a private investment into the state of North Dakota that benefits everyone around it,” he said.
New Leaf Energy has proposed a community benefit agreement that would boost Fried Township’s revenue in 2027.
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Dean said New Leaf Energy is willing to commit $50,000 to Fried Township once an ordinance is approved for solar energy conversion facilities. He said the township would receive an additional $100,000 from New Leaf Energy if the Fried Township Board approves a permit for the project and another $50,000 once the project is finalized at the state level.
Dean also said New Leaf Energy would pay a permit application fee estimated at $75,000 to $150,000. He said the amount of the permit application fee depends on what the Fried Township Board approves in its ordinance for solar energy conversion facilities.
“This would be roughly a 300% increase in their general fund revenue,” he said. “Ideally, they can improve a lot of the roads that the constituents have been driving on and have had issues with. It’s a fund to pay back gravel contracts and volunteer firefighting and all the things that a township manages, pay back invoices and stuff like that.”
New Leaf Energy also estimates paying about $23.4 million in state and local taxes over the 30-year lifespan of the project.
The estimated allocations on what New Leaf Energy expects to pay in taxes to individual entities over 30 years are:
Simonson said the additional revenue that New Leaf Energy will provide to the township will help with maintaining the roads. She said the township doesn’t have enough money to maintain the roads or for snow removal in some areas.
John Doehler, a Fried Township resident, agreed that the additional revenue will help the township maintain its roads.
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“The big thing for the community is to get it in, get it going, get it established, so we can start getting money to maintain our roads and do other things for the community, for the people that live in our area,” said Doehler, who would live less than a half mile from the project. “We are missing out on so many things that some of these people just don’t realize. We need money. We don’t have it. This is one way for our community to generate cash for the better of everybody that lives in it.”
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