A plan to convert cropland into a solar farm and potentially generate millions of dollars in revenue for Shawano County has come to an end.
Through an agreement approved by the county board in February 2021, the proposed solar farm was expected to take up anywhere from 300-500 acres of the 630-acre county farm property along state Highway 22 in the Town of Belle Plaine.
It was to be run by National Grid Renewables (now known as Geronimo Power) and was projected to produce up to 50 megawatts of solar energy, potentially providing the county with more than $8 million in revenue over the course of the lease.
In a letter dated Oct. 9, Jenna Brouwer, director of real estate for Geronimo Power, wrote the company chose to terminate the Belle Plaine Solar Project “after assessing commercial viability.”
No other reason was provided.
Mike Rosenow, solar and storage project developer with the Bloomington, Minnesota-based company, told the Shawano County Public Property Committee on Sept. 12, 2024, the next step in the process was to determine the interconnection costs.
He said if those costs are the same or less than 10% more than originally estimated, they will move on to the next phase and submit the plans to the Mid-continent Independent System Operator (MISO), the electric grid operator for the central United States.
“If DPP2 (definitive planning phase) goes according to plan, which it should, you guys will probably be negotiating for an extension in your contract,” Rosenow said at that meeting.
The lease was established for up to five years of development, two years of construction and an extended term of 25 years, with an option for three extensions that could extend the lease up to 30 additional years.
It never made it past the development phase.
Nearly 300 acres of the land continues to be leased to Kraig Rosenow on an annual basis for agricultural purposes. Funds generated from the lease are provided to the Shawano Area Agricultural Society for the operation and maintenance of the Shawano County Fairgrounds.
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
