Kasson planning panel recommends subdivision to enable Byron Solar transmission line

KASSON CITY — The Kasson City planning and zoning panel voted to recommend that the City Council approve a subdivision enabling EDF Power Solutions to acquire a narrow parcel for a transmission line serving the Byron Solar Project.

The panel's motion, made by the chair and seconded during the meeting, passed by voice vote with no recorded opposition. The recommendation will be forwarded to the City Council, which is scheduled to consider the matter on Wednesday.

EDF Power Solutions representative Carl Pierce told the panel the Byron Solar Project is roughly a 200-megawatt facility that will connect to the Byron Substation via a 345-kilovolt generation tie line. "It's going to be basically a 345 kV transmission line that's going to go through here," Pierce said, summarizing the company's need for the narrow parcel. He said the company holds about 1,800 acres under contract, obtained a state-level permit in May 2023, and estimates construction could begin late this year or slip into next year with operations starting around 2029.

Pierce explained the immediate issue: a single landowner along County Highway 34 does not want to grant a long-term easement and prefers to sell the right-of-way. To purchase that sliver of land, the company must first subdivide the larger parcel and create a new parcel for sale. Pierce said the new parcel is not expected to exceed 150 feet in width but that the exact dimensions had not yet been finalized.

Panel members picked up planning and growth concerns. One committee member said the solar field "will change our growth pattern significantly," arguing development pressure and annexation patterns to the southeast could shift as a result. The same member also raised operational concerns for emergency response, noting the city has trained personnel for fire incidents related to energy projects.

Panel members questioned whether EDF has an offtaker for the project; Pierce said negotiations are ongoing and that capacity-credit outcomes on the MISO market remain uncertain. The group also discussed nearby grid work: Pierce noted agreements to cross existing lines and referenced multiple battery storage projects clustered around the Byron Substation, saying there are two 200-megawatt battery projects (400 MW total) with power purchase agreements with Excel and PUC approvals.

Staff told the panel the route for the generation tie line has already been approved by the Public Utilities Commission and that Dodge County normally handles subdivision approvals but that, because the parcel lies within the city's urban expansion zone and its width is below county minimums, the city can act on the request and provide a recommendation to county officials.

The panel's action was procedural — a recommendation to the City Council rather than a final land-transfer approval. The council will make the final decision and then notify Dodge County of the city's position on the urban expansion and subdivision request.

Action taken: The panel moved and seconded a recommendation to approve the subdivision; the motion passed by voice vote. No formal roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript.