Residents press committee over proposed Avangrid 150‑MW solar project; developer says battery storage withdrawn

Committee members and Maple Creek residents spent more than an hour on Tuesday debating a proposed Avangrid solar project that would place roughly 1,200 acres of panel arrays and a substation in and around Maple Creek and New London. Residents told the Economic Development Committee they do not want prime farmland converted to a utility‑scale solar array and raised concerns about property values, wildlife, road damage and long‑term soil or water impacts. Derek Buss, lead developer for Avangrid, said battery storage has been withdrawn from the company’s current filings and described the state and regional permitting steps required for a project of this size. The discussion matters because the project would be large enough to fall under state review, not local zoning. That shifts decision authority from town or county permitting to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, which reviews projects of 100 megawatts or larger through a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity process that includes public information meetings, environmental review and hearings. Residents at the meeting said the proposal would remove…