Sawyer County Board adopts 9‑month moratorium on commercial solar and battery storage siting

The Sawyer County Board of Supervisors voted to adopt a moratorium of up to nine months on new commercial solar facilities and battery energy storage systems, approving a pause to allow the county to draft zoning rules for those uses.

Zoning Administrator Kozlowski told the board the pause would apply to larger, utility-scale operations that generate power to sell back to the grid and to battery energy storage systems, adding the moratorium would not affect residential systems intended for personal use. “It is a moratorium to pause solar facility development for a period up to 9 months in which then Sawyer County will adopt some form of ordinance,” Kozlowski said.

The action follows a request earlier this year for a roughly 2‑megawatt, 20‑acre installation in one town and the board’s finding that the county has no existing ordinance to regulate utility‑scale solar, decommissioning obligations, or where such facilities are allowed. Kozlowski and board members said the draft ordinance will also consider battery storage, potential noise and environmental concerns, and—separately—emerging uses such as data centers that consume large amounts of power.

County staff said the moratorium is meant to buy time to assemble stakeholders, including towns, the zoning committee, members of the public and representatives from solar manufacturers and distributors, to craft a locally appropriate ordinance. Kozlowski said stakeholders’ input will be sought while county legal counsel and staff adapt model language used by other counties.

Supervisor Sessel moved to adopt the moratorium; Supervisor Schuman seconded. The motion passed on an affirmative voice vote.

Next steps outlined by staff call for drafting proposed ordinance language, outreach to towns and interested parties, and return to the zoning committee and full board for consideration before the moratorium expires.