Proposed Olmsted County solar project could end resident's rural dream

Yahoo

20-05-2025

May 20—VIOLA TOWNSHIP, Minn. — Clint Mulholland had a dream.
When he was 5, he and his father were watering their sheep kept at the farm of their neighbor and friend, "Uncle" Bill Brennan.
Mulholland, who loved Uncle Bill's farm, told Brennan, "I'm going to buy this from you someday."
So, in 2009 when Brennan, unable to continue living alone at the house in rural Viola Township, called Mulholland — then 24 — and told him he'd sell Mulholland the house, the two men came to an agreement, part of which consisted of Brennan extracting a promise from his young friend that he never sell the place.
"What I did from '09 to now, Bill would be proud of," Mulholland said. He tore down old out buildings, renovated the main house and added a large pole barn as a garage and for storage.
Each morning he wakes up, Mulholland said, to beautiful sunrises, and each night he's treated to beautiful sunsets.
Now 40, Mulholland isn't sure he can keep that promise he made to Uncle Bill.
"I'll be surrounded on all four sides," Mulholland said.
That is if Ranger Power, a Chicago-based renewable energy company, makes good on its plans to build a 1,800-acre solar farm that would cover farmland in Haverhill and Viola townships, northeast of Rochester in Olmsted County.
The project, dubbed Lemon Hill Solar, would cover 1,800 acres daisy-chained across Viola and Haverhill townships in eastern Olmsted County. The solar farm would have a capacity, said Sergio Trevino, vice president of Ranger Power LLC, of 180 megawatts.
This is not the company's first venture into utility-scale solar projects. And this project rivals the largest in Southeast Minnesota.
Trevino said Ranger Power has developed several operational solar projects throughout the Midwest, and several other projects are in development, listing existing projects in Michigan and Illinois.
This project, if completed, would be second in capacity — but larger in land area coverage — to the Byron Solar project that is slated to begin construction sometime this year. That project, located mainly in Canisteo Township in Dodge County, will cover nearly 1,500 acres with a capacity of 200 megawatts. The Byron Solar project is being developed by EDF Renewables.
Trevino said about 14 landowners have voluntarily agreed to participate in the project. He cited proximity to transmission lines as one of the factors in choosing the location.
"The project will be designed to minimize impacts," Trevino said, adding that state and federal environmental requirements as well as water flow concerns will be addressed. "The Minnesota Department of Commerce's Energy Environmental Review and Analysis (EERA) office will conduct a detailed review of all project impacts. The project will also obtain required local permits not covered by the Department of Commerce Site Permit, such as driveway and stormwater permits."
He said solar panels have a long history of safe usage in the United States, and that Lemon Hill Solar would include "vegetative cover planted for the solar project (that) will produce nutrient-dense topsoil and help increase biodiversity throughout the project area, the project will use little to no water during operation, and the project will not produce harmful air or water pollution."
A letter from Ranger Power adds that the project will add $33 million in new tax revenue over the potential 40-year lifespan of the project. That equals about $825,000 in taxes a year split between state, county, township and local school districts.
The project will be presented to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) later this summer, Trevino said, with the hope of beginning construction in 2027 and becoming operational in 2028.
Not everyone is buying Ranger Power's claims of a safe and tranquil solar farm in their backyards.
At a May 2 meeting organized by Mulholland's mother, Joni Mulholland, at the Viola Town Hall, dozens of people — among a crowd of nearly 80 — spoke against the project.
Bill Smith, who has lived in Haverhill Township for 39 years, talked about how when he wanted to build hog barns on his land, he needed to go through several public hearings in the township. The same was true when he wanted to build a modular home on his property.
Mullholland said when he built his pole barn garage at his property, there were multiple meetings at the township and county level before the permit was approved.
"I hear, 'It's my property, I can do what I want with it.'" Smith said, referring to the response he hears from people who have joined the project. "Can I cover my property with storage units? How can this be on ag-zoned land?"
Smith asked the crowd — which included state Sen. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, and state Rep. Steve Jacob, R-Altura — if there was a way to change the zoning laws to have more local control.
That, Drazkowski said, is exactly what he tried to do with an amendment to the Omnibus, Energy, Utilities, Environment and Climate bill, adding language saying, "A county may adopt, by ordinance, standards for large wind energy conversion systems and solar energy generating systems that are more stringent than standards in commission rules or in the commission's permit standards." The amendment went on to add that the PUC "shall consider and apply those more stringent standards, unless the commission finds good cause not to apply the standards."
That amendment was voted down on May 12 along party lines with one Republican joining the DFL.
Jacob said the DFL's rush to approve solar projects is tied to the state's goal to be 100% wind- and solar-powered by 2040. Any amendments in the Legislature offered by Republicans — allowing for local regulations and input, forbidding purchase of components from places where child or slave labor is used — were all voted down on party lines.
Smith — echoing Drazkowski — noted that all other land-use decisions are handled at the county and township level. Only solar farms are approved without county or township permits needed.
"Property rights are a good foundational freedom," Drazkowski said. "I support that very very much. But property rights only extend as far as you interfere in someone else's property."
Mulholland said while he thinks solar power can be a vital part of energy production, Ranger Power and his neighbors are boxing him in, meaning his property rights are, indeed, being interfered with.
He listed off a litany of interference. During construction, he and his neighbors will have to listen to nonstop pounding as thousands of solar panel supports are driven into the ground. Traffic during construction will tie up the rural roads of the townships, particularly Viola Road/Olmsted County Road 2.
Then there's the damage to the topsoil of productive agricultural land. Leveling of land for a substation and for fields of solar panels could lead to soil erosion and an inability to re-convert the land for agricultural uses due to a loss of topsoil and potential leeching of hazardous chemicals from the solar panels over time, Smith said. The project would mean the loss of field waterways, tile lines and topsoil.
Mulholland pointed out that the double-substation for the project — according to the current map from Ranger Power — would be built just a stone's throw from his home. He'd like to see the substation built at least a half-mile from his home.
But that is only part of the problem.
The land where he lives — and neighboring land, which would be covered with solar panels — is the headwaters of the Whitewater River, a certified trout stream that also leads directly into the Mississippi River.
If he were to break his promise to Uncle Bill and sell the property — something he hopes not to have to do — Mulholland wonders just how much he would get for his investment. He speculated that property values, especially with him being surrounded on all sides by solar infrastructure, would drop 30% or more.
At the May 2 meeting, Smith asked the crowd, "Who here would like to buy a house next to a solar farm? Probably no one." A show of hands indicated he was correct.
Jennifer Lawver, who lives on Viola Road, said if the project is approved, she'll immediately put her property up for sale at a 10% discount to try to move before the solar panels go up.
And while the developer has found willing landowners to participate, Mulholland said only one of the 14 who has signed on has a home within sight of where solar panels will go up. For some, he said, the money being offered is too good.
But Mulholland worries about his quality of life if he stays with the substation just yards away, humming behind tall fences.
"I won't have any wildlife access," he said. "My 5 acres will never have deer on it again."