OCONTO COUNTY, Wis. (WFRV) – Despite long odds, residents of the town of Morgan in rural Oconto County say they will do everything they can to stop an out-of-state company from building a solar energy generating facility in their town.
Town of Morgan residents packed a town hall meeting on Tuesday night to brainstorm ways they can prevent the project from happening. In the state of Wisconsin, the Public Service Commission has final say on approving large solar projects and does not need approval from local municipalities.
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An Oconto County official told Local Five News that the solar energy company (Fox Solar LLC, which is a subsidiary of Nextera Energy Resources LLC) needs to get permits from the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin and needs to find a buyer for the utility.
Town officials said they believe all of this is inevitable though.
“We’re up to 30 projects in the state of Wisconsin and the public service commission has rubberstamped all of them,” said Karen Nelson-Kispert, who is the Land Use Plan Commission secretary for the town of Morgan. “We’re 30-0 not in our favor. Everything is stacked against us.”
Town officials said they’ve been told that, pending approval, construction on the project would begin in 2027 and the goal is to have it operational by 2028.
According to the project website, it will generate 150 megawatts of clean energy in Oconto County, create up to 250 construction jobs, and, over the first 25 years of the project, bring in $12.5 million in additional revenue for the county.
Town officials said that Nextera Energy Resources officials were scheduled to be at the meeting on Tuesday night to answer questions from residents. However, they never showed up. Local 5 News called their media line. A representative took down our information, but the company hasn’t gotten back to us with a statement.
An Oconto County official told Local 5 News that the solar company received threats from residents in a nearby town and that’s the reason they didn’t show up at the town hall on Tuesday night.
Town of Morgan residents say it’s extremely disappointing that the solar company officials decided to skip the meeting. They have a lot of concerns about the solar project.
“It’s not earth-shattering money (the amount of money the county and town get from the solar project), it’s not enough to jeopardize the health and safety of everybody in the town,” said Oconto County supervisor Jolene Barkhaus.
“When that claim for your house because you had to evacuate because there’s a solar incident, it could be a fire or release of toxic chemicals and you have to vacate your property and you have to vacate your property for a day or more,” said Oconto County supervisor David Behrend.
Residents said they also don’t like that farmland is getting used for a solar project and worry that this project is a precursor for additional solar or data center projects.
Behrend represents parts of the Town of Morgan and said the vast majority of residents oppose this solar project.
Town officials said they will continue to be in contact with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin to try to convince them that this project isn’t in the best interests of their town. They have also hired a lawyer to explore potential legal channels to stop the project.
State legislators have introduced a bill seeking to require local approval for certain wind and solar projects before Public Service Commission approval.
For more information about the solar project in the town of Morgan, please click here.
“The thought that in 180 days they can just stamp it and they can just be on their way and come in and do what they want I don’t know what to say,” said one town of Morgan official.
