Utility Scale Incursion on Wisconsin Landscapes: What is Really Going On?
All over Wisconsin (our country and the world), there is a rush to address climate change by reducing carbon dioxide emissions. States are approving large industrial wind and solar projects to be built like there is no tomorrow, and with no energy planning or consideration of the need, economics, or impacts. It is sad that we have waited till the eleventh hour to take climate change seriously and now many feel we should rush into solutions without even seriously looking at the details of how these solutions will work out. Compounding this, our elected officials, agencies, (and even frequently local municipalities and county governments) are taking their cues on how to solve this problem, from Independent System Operators (ISOs), investors in large wind and solar energy projects, financiers (the banking industry), and businesses developed around designing and building utility-scale wind and solar projects. All of these sources have a vested interest in this single solution and rarely present the downsides to these projects (unless they are wanting subsidies or regulatory advantages to cover their costs, for example interconnection costs).
In Wisconsin, there are currently at least 62 new wind and solar plant proposals, totaling 8,803 MW costing roughly $18+ billion dollars.
These projects would directly impact approximately 340 square miles (217,600 acres) of rural land in Wisconsin and at the current rate of development, generate 51% more electricity than we need by the year 2026.
What is Driving these Projects:
The incursion of wind and solar merchant plants in Wisconsin is coming about because it is very profitable for investors. The projects are heavily subsidized at the Federal level and frequently sold to public utilities for a quick profit, allowing investors to avoid much risk. The regulatory environment for these projects is great, because, if the project is under 100 MW, there are essentially no requirements that would fall outside of procedural, documentary and construction standards. If the project is over 100 MW, the project is required to be granted a CPCN, but is not required to show need, comparison to alternatives, engineering factors or economic viability.
How is it Communities are Kept in the Dark about these Projects:
Wisconsin law defines power plants that are developed by private investors as merchant plants. Merchant power plants (mostly utility-scale solar and wind projects) do not have to follow the same rules as public utility power plant proposals. They are not required to show need or economic viability to be approved by the Wisconsin PSC. Developers of merchant plants are not required to let a community or the public know that they are pursuing a large-scale project in their area, until they have already collected the number of signed lease agreements with individual landowners, that they need for their interconnection process with MISO. Outside of any zoning requirements, your neighbor may literally be determining the fate of your community’s future and the value and livability of your property. Many of these “neighbors” are absentee landlords, ie. they do not live on the property so will not be affected by the downsides they incur by signing lease agreements. Utility-scale wind and solar developers frequently offer non-participating landowners a payment for signing a “Good Neighbor agreement” which is essentially a gag order, keeping them from speaking to others or complaining about the project (even though they have no idea what the downsides of the project may be, that will affect their lives).
At the point that the developer has the requisite signatures, they are on the verge of filing an application with the PSC. Because there are almost no PSC requirements for them to meet, its already virtually a done deal by the time communities and landowners (whose properties will be directly affected), find out. In fact, there is no PSC code at all for siting solar plants and the PSC has refused to pursue it on different occasions related to Petitions for Rulemaking, submitted in proceeding dockets. The state code for Wind turbine projects (PSC 128) contains minimal protections for the public and standards for review and decommissioning. But, what people are generally unaware of, is that most of the protections in PSC 128 are not enforceable, if they are not adopted into a local Ordinance for Wind Energy Systems.
Once these proposed merchant plants are approved (and sometimes even before they have been approved), public utilities often put in motion the process for purchasing the project or establishing an “affiliate agreement” for the power. This is effectively a loop-hole for utilities to avoid having to go through a full PSC regulatory process that requires showing need and economic viability, etc. So the public loses its right to a full regulatory proceeding and has no opportunity to participate in project approval that includes parameters that are important and relevant to their community and the state as a whole. In a recent case, Alliant has submitted an Application “to Acquire” several merchant solar facilities, while the developer of each of the merchant solar facilities is still actively seeking approval for their project in a PSC Docket. This begs the question: Why is the PSC allowing these projects to proceed as merchant facilities, at the same time that they have a docket for approval of a public utility to acquire it? This seems to be a brazen collusion between the PSC and public utilities, to skirt the PSC’s own rules that regulate public utilities.
To make this situation even worse, the PSC failed to keep the public, and specifically intervenors, informed that a docket had opened for Alliant to acquire these merchant power plant projects. With Alliant being given license to skirt PSC rules for public utilities combined with the lack of legislative requirements for merchant power plants, the one remaining avenue for the public and intervenors to participate in, is the “acquisition” docket 6680-CE-182 (currently ongoing with Public Hearings scheduled for February 18 at 1 & 6 pm). Without notification that this docket exists, the intervenors right to participate has been taken from them. These citizen Intervenors are fighting to protect their properties and communities, a task involving great effort and time commitment. As you can see, we are desperately lacking legislative requirements and revisions for merchant power plants in Wisconsin.
In the end, the project lands will be taken off tax rolls, the project will be rate recovered and the utility will get a guaranteed rate of return (profit).12 Because this is a lucrative investment scenario for developers, we have so many of these projects popping up that we are creating far more generation than we need. Why should the public “finance” a market for investors to profit on unlimited projects, for power that the public doesn’t even need? Further, why should we be covering good farmland with industrial structures and creating economic and environmental disasters for communities and landowners, when we could be putting solar panels on every roof, barn, business, over parking lots, etc., at a lower cost with a greater benefit in carbon dioxide emission reductions?
Ultimately, individuals, businesses and communities will invest in roof-top solar and solar plus battery storage as a shear economic necessity (because electric rates will be so high). At that point, the public will still be on the hook to pay for the multitude of merchant plants for which no planning, or reasonable regulatory process has been required, even though these power plants will no longer be needed. If we let this continue, our rural areas will be large industrial factories that will soon be obsolete and leave a staggering debt – Enron-Wisconsin style.