Paul A. SmithMilwaukee Journal Sentinel
A debate is brewing in Wisconsin over the future of wildlife and green power facilities.
It asks: Is it more important to us to develop a solar farm than do our best to ensure the future of a state-threatened species? What accommodations should be made for industry and wildlife in this era of climate change, loss of grassland habitat and overall bird declines? And in such cases, is the Public Service Commission the appropriate arbiter?
At issue is a proposal to place solar panels and associated infrastructure on 6,737 acres in Portage County. TheVista Sands Solar Farmwould be constructed on private lands in the towns of Buena Vista, Grant and Plover.
As proposed it would be the state's largest solar development.
We all know we need energy. And solar is about as environmentally-friendly as it gets with current technology.
But Vista Sands was sure to cause controversy due to its planned location. In places the development would be adjacent to the Buena Vista State Wildlife Area, home to the Wisconsin's largest remaining population of greater prairie chickens, a state-threatened species.
One alternative in the plan would also place solar panels on known prairie chicken breeding sites, also known as dancing grounds or leks. The birds spread out from breeding sites as far as 2 miles to nest and forage, according to studies.
Alarm bells sounded in the conservation community after the proposal was submitted earlier this year. The Wisconsin Wildlife Federation applied for and was accepted as an intervenor in the application process. Other intervenors are RENEW Wisconsin (RENEW), Clean Wisconsin, Town of Grant and Town of Plover.
The Department of Natural Resources and PSC recently completed a draft Environmental Impact Statement on the project. The 147-page document is open to public comment through June 14.
The purpose of the draft EIS is to provide "decision makers, the public and other stakeholders with an analysis of the social, cultural, and environmental impacts that could result from the construction of a new solar generating facility and its associated facilities," according to the document.
There are dozens of considerations any time a facility spanning several square miles is developed. In this case, the land targeted for the solar farm is now primarily used for agricultural production, mostly row crops including corn, soybeans and potatoes.
Flat and mostly treeless, the area is tailor-made for a solar farm. The developers would need to do a minimum amount of site preparation prior to installing the solar panels and other equipment.
Seen through the eyes of business, the Portage County site provides a prime opportunity to increase profits.
The project would also provide an economic boost to the area. In addition to the fees paid to landowners to lease the sites for the solar infrastructure, Vista Sands’ initial estimates indicate it would generate approximately $6.5 million in annual shared revenue payments, according to the draft EIS. The developer expects annual payments of $3.7 million to Portage County, $1.86 million to the Town of Grant, $140,400 to the Town of Buena Vista and $842,400 to the Town of Plover.
But since the parcels are close to Buena Vista they are also important to prairie chickens and other wildlife.
This is where our values - and those in the project review system - will be tested.
"There is no way, none, that this development could be beneficial to prairie chickens," said Peter D. Ziegler of Slinger, past president of The Society of Tympanuchus Cupido Pinnatus, Ltd. "The prairie chicken is known as the 'bird of avoidance' for good reason."
The STCP, named after the Latin for prairie chicken, was a primary supporter of the species in Wisconsin and beyond for many decades.
Ziegler said the species has been the subject of intensive research since the first nesting study was conducted in Wisconsin in 1928. Since then more than 200 peer-reviewed scientific studies on the prairie chicken have documented its breeding, nesting and population status in the state.
As grasslands have dwindled and human development has increased, it's been a depressing trajectory for the prairie chicken. In 1979 it was listed as a threatened species in Wisconsin; it is considered a "species of greatest conservation need."
In spring 2023 just264 male prairie chickens were documentedat breeding sites (called leks or booming grounds) in Wisconsin, including 175 at Buena Vista State Wildlife Area.
Since solar developments are relatively new, no study has specifically looked at impacts to prairie chickens.
However the draft EIS makes it clear negative impacts from the solar farm development are likely, including "avoidance behaviors" that would defeat a key part of the 2022-32 Wisconsin Prairie Chicken Management Plan.
The draft EIS states "if (prairie chickens) avoid solar facility structures, the proposed project and (the nearby) Portage Solar’s conversion of agricultural lands to the north of Buena Vista Wildlife Area would significantly limit the potential for the establishment of stepping stone grassland habitat between (adjacent state wildlife areas), thereby contributing to the further isolation of those (prairie chicken) subpopulations."
"This project could not have been sited in a worse possible location if we want to preserve a native species," Ziegler said. "The PSC and DNR have the opportunity to do the right thing. The right thing is to beef up the mitigation requirements, that follow the science, to cause the proposed project to be downsized substantially or moved to another location in Wisconsin."
The project review has several steps over the coming months. A public comment period is open on the draft EIS, then the PSC and DNR will issue a final EIS (likely in August) and hold public hearings on the proposal and offer another public comment period. The PSC is then expected to rule on the proposal in December or January. If approved, construction is scheduled to begin in March 2025.
Members of the public are encouraged to comment on the draft EIS. The comment period ends June 14.
Comments may be submitted by mail, email or online; all should reference PSC docket number 9820-CE-100.
Written comments should be mailed to: Anna Edmunds, Environmental Review Coordinator, Public Service Commission, P.O. Box 7854. Madison, WI 53707-7854 or emailed toanna.edmunds@wisconsin.gov
Comments may also be submitted electronically at the PSC’s web site at http://psc.wi.gov. Once at the site, click on the “File a Public Comment” link under eServices at the bottom of the page. On the next page select the “File a comment” link that appears on the left side of the page. Locate the Vista Sands Solar docket (9820-CE-100) and file a comment.
