The Fillmore County Planning Commission held their first meeting of 2020 on January 23. Gary Ruskell will again serve as chairman and Steve Duxbury as vice-chairman. Meetings will be scheduled for the third Thursday of the month at 7 p.m.
A public hearing was held for each of two applications for a conditional use permit for the development of a three-megawatt ground mounted solar project. Fillinona Solar, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of OneEnergy Development, LLC, submitted the applications. Development director Eric Udelhofen explained they are working with MiEnergy to identify locations where it will work best to interconnect with their distribution infrastructure.
The first hearing was for a maximum 3 MW free standing alternating current solar project in Arendahl Township, section 30 on land now owned by Haz Broy Prop, LLC. Fillinona Solar has signed a land lease for up to 20 acres. Udelhofen said they use ag style fencing to keep deer out and use low growing perennial, pollinator friendly cover crops. Seasonal maintenance will be done. The lease is for 26 years. The Hazel Solar project is expected to put out about 6,200 MWh/year.
The renewable electricity will connect directly to the distribution system of MiEnergy. Most of the electricity produced will be used within the community. The electricity produced is expected to be adequate to power 690 households annually.
This site is located west of State Highway 250 and south of the intersection with 296th St. Project construction should start this coming summer and be completed in late 2020 or early 2021. A gravel access road will be constructed. A concrete foundation no more than 10 feet by 10 feet will be constructed to hold an electrical power conversion station and switch gear.
Udelhofen said they expect to use a Minnesota contractor. The project construction could benefit southeast Minnesota workers. Solar installers is one of the fastest growing occupations in the nation.
A glare analysis was done for any hour of any day. No glare is expected at any point. The single-axis photovoltaic panels move as the sun moves; they have an anti-reflective coating. Udelhofen was asked about the decommissioning of the project at the end of its useful life. He said the majority of the materials are recyclable as scrap. The panels can be returned to the manufacturer to be broken down and reused. The site will be restored to a farmable state comparable to the surrounding land.
There were no comments from the Arendahl supervisors. Jelon Hogie explained their driveway is located right across from the substation. Site distance for pulling out of their driveway is a problem in the winter time. She was concerned about being able to see oncoming traffic in the dips when pulling on to Highway 250 (a roller coaster road).
Jesse Arnold asked about the possibility of a panel breaking and pieces washing down into the cattle pasture. Udelhofen said the panel glass is like a windshield; they don’t shatter, but stay within the frame when broken.
A MiEnergy employee explained how the idea for these projects originated; he said they didn’t want to have just one large solar project. They looked at six different locations near a substation, narrowing it down to four. Two of these are in Fillmore County.
County Attorney Brett Corson asked about the legal description (actual acres). Corson said he wanted a legal description for the solar array. The description included was over 25 acres; Udelhofen explained their intent is to make it closer to 20 acres. The legal description will be available prior to getting the building permit.
Duane Bakke asked if the layout of the solar array could be changed to improve site distance issues described by Hogie. Udelhofen said the project placement was designed to keep better cropland for farming. Ruskell suggested they wait to vote on the application until they can get more information on the elevations and site distance. A motion was made and approved to continue the public hearing on this application at the next meeting on February 20.
The second public hearing was to consider a conditional use permit application from Fillinona Solar, LLC for a maximum 3 MW free standing alternating current solar electric system in Fountain Township, section 15. This would again interconnect to the MiEnergy distribution infrastructure. A land lease and solar easement has been signed for up to 20 acres by Mary Finseth. The solar project will be located off CR 11 south of Fountain adjacent to the Fountain Substation. Everything about the project is basically the same as with the Arendahl project described above. Udelhofen said they will tap into an overhead line; it is the same concept. Plans are to build it at the same time.
Fountain Supervisor Dan Schmidt said the township had no problem with the application. There was no comment from the public. Bakke said one condition will be a surveyed boundary on this one as County Attorney Corson asked for on the Arendahl project. Corson also wanted a decommission and financial assurance plan included in the conditions. Zoning Administrator Cristal Adkins who was participating via phone said the application materials will be recorded with the CUP. The CUP application for the Fountain Township project was approved by the commission.
The county will receive about $6,000 per year in revenue from each project when they are in production. Each township will receive about $1,500 per year.
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