Morrison County Board directs staff to draft interim ordinance, effectively pausing new wind and solar applications

The Morrison County Board of Commissioners voted 4–1 on Feb. 10 to direct county staff to prepare an interim ordinance that would function as a moratorium on new wind and solar projects while the county reviews its comprehensive plan and its land‑use ordinance.

The motion, read aloud by County Administrator Mister LeBlanc, asked staff to “initiate a review of the Morrison County comprehensive plan and the process to establish an interim ordinance effectively implementing a moratorium on wind and solar while allowing any complete application that has been submitted as of 02/10/26 to continue the permitting process.” The motion was moved by Commissioner Lemire and seconded by Commissioner Casper. Commissioners Moran, Casper, Lemire and the Chair voted yes; Commissioner Winter voted no.

Amy, the county’s land‑services director, told commissioners the county’s existing renewable‑energy rules date to 2007–2014 and that the county’s current standards have not kept pace with industry practice. “The moratorium would stand in place of the existing renewable energy standards and ordinance while the above work is in progress,” Amy said, describing the interim ordinance as a pause to allow staff and the public time to update policy and technical standards.

Staff described the jurisdictional limits that shaped the discussion: the county reviews wind projects under about 5 megawatts (the board may notify the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to extend that), solar projects under 50 megawatts, and storage under about 10 megawatts. Commissioners pressed on scale and land use — noting a rule‑of‑thumb acreage estimate for a 50 MW solar farm could be in the low hundreds of acres — and on the decommissioning and financial‑assurance language the county needs to tighten.

The board directed Amy to draft interim‑ordinance language and to begin a review of the comprehensive plan and land‑use controls. Amy said she will return with draft language for review in a planning session, followed by a public hearing required for any ordinance change. Commissioners debated whether the interim ordinance should apply to pending applications; the motion adopted preserves processing for complete applications submitted before the cutoff date read in the motion.

Next steps: staff will prepare draft interim‑ordinance language and schedule a planning session and public hearing. The board’s direction is procedural; any final adoption will require the public‑hearing process and a subsequent formal vote by the board.