UPDATE FROM TOWN BOARD MEETING AT THE BOTTOM
We heard from Lori Witthuhn who is currently the Chairwoman for the Planning Commission of the Town of Morgan in Oconto County because of some developments that have been going on in their area. “It’s going to absolutely ruin our little township of Morgan. It’s ripping us apart,” she said. Witthuhn shared that in June 2020, NextEra Energy, which is based in Florida started reaching out to landowners in the Morgan township in hopes to get them on board with constructing a solar farm on their property called the Birch Solar Project.
As word spread about the project, there were also citizens who weren’t pleased. This reminded me of a wind turbine project that was set to go up in the town of Morrison in Brown County about 12 years ago, but after a significant amount of pushback by people in the town, the energy company that had contracts with farmers in that area decided to pull the plug and find another location. That disruption in Morrison took a toll on the residents and tore apart people depending on what side of the fence they stood on. To this day there are still decade-old signs posted in ditches throughout the town protesting the failed project.
One of the reasons Witthuhn reached out is because there is already a solar farm in Two Creeks and she’s seen what it’s done to that area. “It’s horrible. Horrible. Miles, and miles, and miles of solar panels. They have an eight-foot chain-link fence around the whole entire property, big red signs that say “WARNING HIGH VOLTAGE,” and then they have the barbed wire on top. It’s just awful,” Witthuhn said. As far as things go in the town of Morgan, they’re still in the beginning stages of the project and nothing is set in stone yet, but landowners have received contracts from NextEra Energy to host this solar farm.
As a town, one swaying factor is that the landowners aren’t the only ones receiving payment for the solar panels, the township and county also get money. “There are shared revenue payments to the local and county governments where these projects are located…these revenue payments are pretty significant. They’re $4,000 for one megawatt of capacity,” says Matt Johnson, the Field Operations Director for the Wisconsin Land and Liberty Coalition. Specifically for this project, they’re estimating it will be 150 megawatts, which would add up to $600,000 annually split between the town and county with the town getting 40% and the county getting the remaining 60%.
In a statement, NextEra shared the following, “It’s important to note that renewable energy projects, like the proposed solar site, are attractive to local communities, as they provide numerous economic benefits, including good jobs and the potential for millions of dollars in additional tax revenue, which can be used to enhance schools, roads, and essential services,” but some disagree. One anonymous man in favor of the decision to host the solar farm claims that the only reason some are pushing back is that, “they don’t like the look of it,” but there’s much more to the issue than that.
After hearing from multiple people against the new project, they shared many concerns such as worries about land values, health issues, wildlife habitats, and wasted farmland. The major upsetting factor for some in the township is the threat of declining land values, “I didn’t invest to be next to a solar panel site,” said one anonymous informer. They’re scared that the value of their land will significantly drop after the project is put in place.
Johnson was questioned about this issue, “we haven’t seen any property decreases when people live next to a renewable energy project.” He went as far as to say that some people like the look of solar farms, “some people like the aesthetics of solar panels.” Either way, he couldn’t come up with any studies or facts showing that land values haven’t declined due to renewable energy projects. The statements made by Johnson may not hold as much power as he’d like because after digging further, the Wisconsin Land and Liberty Coalition receives funding from energy companies similar to NextEra.
Johnson also explained health concerns for those in solar farm areas, “in terms of health concerns, there’s really no health concerns when it comes to these solar/wind projects. When projects are permitted through the Public Service Commission (PSC), there’s a significant and rigorous review process.”
That’s not all, because there’s one huge issue at hand, which is the fact that according to Witthuhn, if NextEra doesn’t come up with at least 750 acres, which she said they most likely have, they will have to get many recommendations in order to build this farm. They would need to get recommendations from the Morgan Planning Commission, then the town, the county of Oconto, and lastly the state.
Also, as Witthuhn said, “if they generate more than 100 megawatts (proposing 150 megawatts) they can bypass all of us, go right to the state, and from there it pretty much gets a rubber stamp because it’s called green energy.” Yes, there are ways to still try and stop the final approval for the solar farm, but it makes it a lot tougher to do. Even with this “loophole” that NextEra may have by not being forced to go through the proper channels for approval, Witthuhn and others hope the town reconsiders and recommends to the county that this project get denied. (Below is the recommendations the planning committee in Morgan sent to the town board and their response.)
According to our anonymous source, ‘there is no vote on this, I just don’t understand. These people don’t understand, there is no vote. The town board and the county board has nothing to say about this.” This is creating a lot of tension at the town hall meetings, “the town hall meetings are getting very, very heated because people want them (the town) to at least make a statement to the county,” Witthuhn said.
So far, Witthuhn and others are working together to try and change the law that lets the energy company bypass so many steps and go straight to the state for approval. “I’m trying to change the law so that the law reads, you have to go through the planning commission, the town, and then the county because they’re not doing that,” she said. Witthuhn realizes that this is a huge task to tackle, but she’s willing to do what it takes because she feels so strongly about the issue. “I’m willing to do it, every day. Let’s not wait one day.”
In a statement to Midwest Communications, a leader of the group against the solar project said, “Our land use committee, based upon the 20 year vision for our town, have asked our town board to help prevent this industrial solar project from happening in our town by making it clear to the county and whoever else is necessary that our residents want our 20 year vision to be upheld. Industrial solar is a clear contradiction to our vision that residents understood to be in place as they invested their lives and resources into their homes over the last two decades. In addition, our land use committee has asked the town board to hire an attorney to advise the town on what legal opportunities they have available to help stop this industrial solar project from happening.”
One Brown County resident who played a significant role in the cancelation of the wind turbine project in Morrison gave some advice to those in Morgan. “My advice is to go to all of the town meetings that you can and be vocal. See if you can stop the conditional use permits from being granted if they’re not already granted. We had a big opposition group and were very vocal and finally, they just gave up. It’s probably going to be a hard fight.”
Currently, NextEra Energy has yet to apply for permits to construct the project and hasn’t applied to the Public Service Commission either. One hopeful resident shared that this is their time to get things done, “if we don’t do something at the local level now to slow down the project, we will be at the mercy of the PSC.”
**The Town of Morgan Planning Committee submitted recommendations to the town board on September 9th asking them to reconsider and shut down the project. The goal was to have the town board receive the recommendation, then recommend to the county that the project end, and the county recommend the same to the state.**
This was the recommendation sent to the town board:
We, as the Planning Committee, established in 2001, per requirements of the State of Wisconsin, state to the town and county officials that the industrial solar complex, of which size is unknown, does not meet our Town of Morgan 20 year vision statement, in our zoning plan. In our vision statement, we list the industrial district I, a conditional use. We are asking the Town Board of Morgan to contact the county and state to deny any conditional use permit, or any other agreement between the town that may be required for the industrial solar complex to be built in the Town of Morgan. We also recommend that legal representation be used with tax payer dollars to deny the industrial solar complex to be built.
Thank you, Town of Morgan Planning and Land Use
The board responded with the following: “After seeking legal counsel through the Wisconsin Towns Association, the board has come to this decision. Because the solar farm issue involves a private contractor, with private landowners and NextEra, a private company, (it) is not a town issue. This is a completed legal contract between private landowners and NextEra. It will no longer be discussed at town board meetings unless it directly involves the town and the town board. Furthermore, Wisconsin state statutes take precedence over any and all county and town ordinances.”
This story will be updated as time goes on. NextEra declined an interview about the Birch Solar Project, but did share that the earliest construction would start is 2023. You can hear the full interview on our agriculture podcast page.
