Republicans are circulating legislation to establish a system for regulating community solar programs while requiring local approval of the projects.
Sen. Patrick Testin, of Stevens Point, and Scott Krug, of Rome, authored the bill, which would give communities oversight of solar facilities by making them subject to local zoning ordinances.
Under the proposal, building permits for structures that are part of a community solar facility would have to be approved via a two-thirds vote of the municipality’s local governing body. The bill would also limit the capacity for solar facilities in the state to 1,750 megawatts and subject them to property taxes, among other provisions.
Some in the state have opposed solar projects over concerns that they take workable farmland out of commission and could disrupt local ecosystems and wildlife.
In a cosponsorship memo, Testin and Krug said the bill will ensure municipalities can decide whether and where solar projects are built in their communities, while attracting investment to the state, creating jobs, driving innovation and competition, and saving consumers and small businesses money on their energy bills.
“Community Solar also empowers anyone with an electric bill to choose affordable, locally generated electricity, encourages new competition in the tightly controlled energy market, and strengthens the grid for years to come,” they said. “By combining local decision-making with consumer choice, this legislation keeps land and resources in family farms across the state while putting communities – not Madison [or] the utilities – in charge of their energy future.”
Gov. Tony Evers’ office and environmental advocacy group Clean Wisconsin did not immediately return requests for comment on the bill.
