Apr. 8—BYRON, Minn. — Friction between Minnesota agriculture land needs and increasing the state's renewable energy production could cast a shadow on an otherwise bright outlook for Minnesota solar generation.

On March 9, 2023, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved the site permit for the $256 million Byron Solar project that will cover more than 1,500 acres southeast of Kasson, mainly in Dodge County's Canisteo Township. The project has not come without some detractors as some county residents expressed concerns about taking prime agricultural land out of production.

About 90% of the farmland in production in Dodge County is classified as prime farmland, said Allen Sommerfeld, spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. The project in Canisteo Township would cover about 1,080 acres of prime farmland, which is slightly more than two-thirds of the site, Sommerfeld added.

John Wagner, who lives in Canisteo Township, urged the PUC to deny a site permit for the project. He suggested non-farmland or paved areas and lots near existing commercial development would be better suited to a solar farm.

Dodge County has more than 248,000 acres of farmland,

according to the 2017 U.S. Department of Agriculture Census of Agriculture.

Sommerfeld said the MDA is working to balance Minnesota's renewable energy goals with agriculture needs by consulting on these types of projects.

Using information provided by the MDA, state administrative law judge Barbara Case ruled in January that the loss of farmland would be "negligible." Case's findings were included in the PUC's decision to grant the site request.

Wagner also argued the facility would hurt his home's value and spoil natural views. "A big selling point for us was the beautiful views out over the fields," he wrote.

However,

a study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

found that houses within a half-mile of a utility-scale solar farm have average resale prices about 1.5% less than houses farther away.

John Tuma, PUC commissioner, said he understands those concerns.

"It's a struggle for some neighbors," Tuma said in an interview days after the PUC approved the site. "You're expecting certain landscapes."

Tuma, who also lives in a rural township area, said it's a trade off of living in a rural area where a development, structure or facility could be erected nearby.

"There's a lot of things that could be a lot worse," he said of the solar farm.

The facility, which will be built by EDF Renewables, a subsidiary of French utility Group, EDF, would produce up to 200 megawatts of electricity. That will make it the largest capacity public solar generation farm in Minnesota when it goes online in 2025. At its peak production, the solar farm would provide enough energy to offset energy consumption of up to 30,000 homes, according to EDF.

Under current plans, construction is expected to begin yet this year and continue through 2025 when the solar farm begins bringing electricity to the power grid through its substation connection in Byron.

Minnesota's solar generation capacity has taken a leap in recent years and in 2018 exceeded the national average of percent of electricity from solar rising to an estimated 3.22% of electric generation statewide in 2022.

Weeks after the Minnesota PUC approved the proposed site permit for the Byron Solar project, another large-scale public solar generation site in Southeast Minnesota is set to start its approval process. The new proposal by NextEra Energy would be a 100-megawatt facility spread out east-southeast of Adams, Minnesota. NextEra Energy officials say they plan to have final plans to the PUC by June 2023 and have the site operational as early as December 2025.

The location and a study footprint of more than 5,500 acres for panel locations will likely draw another discussion about using agricultural land for solar generation.

For some land owners, a solar lease to use their land is a welcome agreement. Jerry Feigel, of Feigel Farms,

told the Post Bulletin in November

he would be leasing 900 of his 1,500 acres to the Byron Solar project for a more reliable payment and less work than farming has brought.

EDF Renewables estimates Dodge County landowners who lease their property to the Byron Solar project will earn $65 million over the solar farm's 35-year lifespan.

NextEra Energy estimates lease payouts between $1.5 million to $2 million per year for that project.

However, allowing solar companies to use land doesn't mean the land goes entirely empty. EDF Renewables is working with state soil and water resource management officials to plant native prairie and pollinator-friendly plants at the Dodge County site. Putting in native vegetation not only helps the environment but also makes the site more attractive for neighboring property owners and residents, Tuma said.

"We're not building an industrial site, we're building a solar garden," he said.

The PUC put together an interagency vegetation management planning work group to help design the site. Other attempts to populate other solar facilities with native and pollinator plants have met with failure, Tuma said.

"That's why we put this team together," he said.

The work group includes representatives from the Minnesota Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency along with staff from the PUC.

The successes and failures of other solar habitat sites will help guide the team's decisions as they plan how to design the wildlife plan, Tuma added.

Five years ago, the city of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, began drafting a plan to grow plants in and around a 1.4-acre city solar generation site. Realizing that vision has been a struggle, officials there say.

"Between a decent amount of truck traffic, mowing, and I believe some of it even got sprayed at some point for noxious weeds, it's been struggling and a constant battle," said Bryan Malone, district administrator with the Becker County Soil and Water Conservation District.

Compacted soil at the site has also been a challenge, he added.

However, there have been signs of progress, Malone said. Native habitat under the panels seems to thrive. City and county officials also continue to work to seed and maintain the area.

"There are a lot of native species and diversity considering everything it has been through," Malone said. "We believe in a few more years it will become fully established and meet the expectations of what it should look like."

One of the keys to the progress has been cooperation between different levels of government and organizations at the site, which is something Tuma noted the Byron project is already starting with.

The next steps for the Byron project are to get permit approval to tap into the regional electric grid run by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, which would transmit the electric power throughout the region.

So far, the Byron project has been approved for 50% its solar generation to go into the MISO.

A new line and substation for the other half of the farm's projected capacity still needs approval.