Wisconsin’s most powerful solar farm just got the go-ahead

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) has approved Vista Sands Solar Farm, which will become the most powerful solar farm in the state.

Doral Renewables’ Portage County project will be the most powerful solar farm in Wisconsin and among the most powerful in the US, generating nearly 1.3 gigawatts (GW) of electricity – enough clean energy to power about 200,000 homes.

Vista Sands is expected to generate around 2.1 million MWh annually. It will take around two years to built the solar farm. Doral is leasing around 8,500 acres of private farmland, and when the leases are up, the land will return to its owners.

The project comes with a $1 billion price tag, will generate around 500 construction jobs, and create 50 permanent positions once completed. On top of that, it’s set to deliver big benefits to the local community, with utility aid payments expected to bring in more than $6 million every year to Portage County and the municipalities hosting the solar farm.

“Today [Friday], the PSC approved the biggest step toward curbing Wisconsin’s carbon emissions in the state’s history. Deployment of clean energy on this scale will do more to advance state energy policy than has any construction project in Wisconsin to date,” said Clean Wisconsin general counsel Katie Nekola. 

A report released earlier this year highlighted the major local and regional benefits the Vista Sands Solar project is expected to deliver. In its first year alone, the project is projected to offset more than 1.6 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, prevent over 3,200 metric tons of soil acidification, and significantly cut other air, land, and water pollutants.

Read more: A 100-MW solar farm just broke ground in Wisconsin

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