The Pierce County Land Management Committee unanimously approved a conditional use permit for the Western Mustang Solar project at the committee’s August 19, 2020 meeting held at the Pierce County Fairgrounds. Western Mustang Solar is a 74-megawatt utility-scale solar generation project to be constructed in the Town of Gilman in northeast Pierce County. The project is being developed by Ranger Power, which has more than two dozen utility-scale solar generation projects in various development phases in U.S. Midwestern states, including Wisconsin.

Members of the community were given the chance for their opinion to be heard during the public comment portion of the meeting. About two dozen people attended the meeting.

Photo by Jack McLoone. Most of the speakers expressed concern that their property value will be lowered due to the project.

“I think it is appropriate to have solar arrays in desert locations, but I do not think they belong where we live. There are three properties for sale on 890th. One of them sold in four days, but his question was, is there any view of the solar array? The answer was no, and that one sold in four days,” one landowner stated before saying another property with views of the solar array has been listed for four months. “It’s mostly about aesthetics. I know it follows guidelines, but it’s not the reason I moved to St. Croix County. I have honeybees, so I am concerned about the adjacent land having enough flora and fauna to survive.”

“I am not against solar farms,” resident John Shafer stated. “I just want to make sure everyone is heard in this process. I think we need to have some sort of alternative energy systems.”

“I don’t want anything to be short-sighted and we have to think long-term,” Shafer said, before asking the board to try to find a conclusion that works for everyone.

“I am here to express a couple concerns, one of them the land values,” resident James Reed said. “We are bordered both on the east and west side by these panels and I cannot see how that is not going to affect the land values of the property. I am also concerned about the environmental issues. The sound, the frequencies. I know some people said it is going to be monitored. I guess I am going to ask, who is going to be monitoring? Who is going to maintain records of that so that the residents and public can see those?”

The motion to approve the Conditional Use Permit was made by Jeff Holst and seconded by Jon Aubart before the Committee unanimously approved the permit.

“Securing the county conditional use permit represents an important milestone for the project and its continued development and eventual construction,” said Sergio Trevino, Director of Permitting for Ranger Power. “Ranger is committed to developing the Western Mustang Solar project in cooperation with the Pierce County community and our neighbors in the Town of Gilman. We incorporated community feedback into our conditional use permit application, and it’s clear that the land management committee and county staff recognized that,” he said.

Photo by Jack McLoone.

John Shafer spoke to the Committee about their decision to issue a Conditional Use Permit.