Committee agrees to research solar-lease proposal for county Farm Road parcel

Pat Kenny told the committee he has discussed a proposal to expand the community solar operation adjacent to county-owned land and described an offer to lease roughly 15 acres at $800 per acre per year (about $12,000 annually), with 2% annual increases, a 30-year lease and an option for an additional 10 years. "The company that would install a solar farm, we have a proposal from them to use 15 acres of that," Pat Kenny said, describing that 1 Energy would build the project and Xcel Energy would likely buy it, while the county would keep ownership of the land and simply lease it.

Committee members discussed power-line and interconnection constraints, local zoning (some of the parcel lies in city limits so zoning would involve the city), and whether to issue an RFP or pursue exclusive negotiations for 18 months while the developer works on interconnection and permitting. A committee member moved to pursue further research and study of the Farm Road property for solar use; the motion was seconded and the committee voted in favor. Members asked staff to include more analysis of county-owned properties, financial comparisons to other uses and input from entities such as Bayfield Electric, the Nature Conservancy and county planning staff before returning with recommendations.