Whitewater Solar outlines 80 MW project spanning Jefferson, Walworth counties; seeks joint development agreement

Whitewater Solar representatives on behalf of developers Ranger Power and Desiree told the Jefferson County Board of Supervisors that they plan an 80-megawatt alternating-current utility-scale solar facility located primarily in Jefferson County with the southern portion in Walworth County and that the project team expects to negotiate a joint development agreement (JDA) with the county.

The presentation by Nick Hawes, a Desiree project lead, summarized the project footprint, permitting schedule and proposed local coordination. "The project is an 80 megawatts AC," Hawes said. "There's 2,000 acres leased. We're only going to utilize about half of that land to generate the power requirements that we're aiming for." He said the project substation will be sited next to an existing university substation.

The developers filed a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin in September 2024 and expect a party-and-public-session hearing in July 2025 and a target CPCN decision in November 2025. Hawes said the team anticipates beginning construction after harvest in summer 2025, with an 18-month construction window and commercial operations in winter or spring 2028; he described the facility life as 30 to 40 years.

Why it matters: the CPCN process limits aspects of county control, the developers said, but the county and developer can still negotiate a JDA that addresses local impacts. Hawes described the JDA as covering road-use agreements, pre- and post-construction condition assessments and repairs, drainage, setbacks from sensitive features, and vegetation management.

Project technology and local impacts: Hawes described fixed horizontal racking on driven piles, inverters and pad-mounted transformers, combiner boxes and meteorological stations. He said panels are mounted on horizontal tracking racking that can tilt 0–75 degrees and can be placed into a hail-stow mode. "There's a hail stow mode that's part of that," he said, adding that large hail can still damage panels but the developer leaves spare panels on site for replacements.

On soils and drainage, Hawes said the project team is conducting a drain-tile and drainage survey and that the design will incorporate drainage tile work before grading and construction. To limit long-term compaction the project will test soils with a penetrometer and, if compaction exceeds thresholds, use decompaction measures such as cross-ripping or harrowing.

Environmental commitments: The developers said they will perform wildlife, wetland and archaeological assessments required by the CPCN and prioritize avoidance and minimization. The project team described a vegetation management plan that would install low-stature prairie mixes and pollinator-friendly perennial vegetation to reduce mowing and herbicide use and to support native species.

Local economic effects: Hawes said the project will produce local tax revenue, supplemental lease income to participating farmers, and construction spending that benefits local hotels, restaurants and suppliers. He said the construction contractor will be a Wisconsin-based firm and that much of the labor will be statewide.

Next steps: county staff indicated they will discuss JDA terms with the developer through May and June, bring JDA drafts to relevant county committees in June and July for review, and seek final county board approval of any JDA in September to remain on the developer's PSC timeline.

Questions from supervisors during and after the presentation focused on hail resistance of panels and soil compaction mitigation. Hawes described the tracking system's hail-stow function and the penetrometer-based compaction testing and remediation methods.