NEW RICHMOND, Wis. >> Residents packed the middle school auditorium here on Monday night, telling U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany that they want to pull the plug on a plan by Xcel Energy to create a solar farm spread across parts of St. Croix County.

“I forbid anyone to call this a farm,” Tiffany said to a round of applause from the packed room as the residents levied their comments. Those who spoke were strongly against the project.

“It’s an industrial facility,” said Tiffany, who represents Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District.

The Ten Mile Creek Solar Project calls for up to 650 megawatts of solar panel production on 5,000 acres spread across some 40,000 acres in St. Croix County to replace the soon to be decommissioned Allen S. King plant in Oak Park Heights.

A project map has yet to be released, but early concepts have shown the project residing in the middle of St. Croix County, between the cities of New Richmond, Hammond and Baldwin. A detailed map would be released 60 days before Xcel formally submits an application with the state.

Before the town hall, Tiffany spoke to the Pioneer Press about Xcel’s plans, saying he doesn’t favor intermittent power sources and that he plans to reintroduce a bill that would end tax credits for solar and wind energy projects on agricultural land. He dubbed it the FARM Act, or the Future Agricultural Retention and Management Act.

Tiffany himself is not a fan of solar and wind power projects, particularly for what he says are “market distorting” tax credits.

“We should stop closing coal plants until we have enough baseload power and electricity that is being produced,” Tiffany said.

Resident concerns

The solar farm has had a contentious history so far.

On Jan. 7, the St. Croix County Board of Supervisors held an informational session about the proposed plans to a packed chamber of locals. More than 4,700 people have signed a petition aiming to stop the solar farm. Dan Weatherly of Hammond Township handed a copy of the petition to Tiffany on Monday night.

Anne Olson of Erin Prairie, Wis., watched the town hall by the doorway of the auditorium, holding her 9-month-old daughter Della, as her 5-year-old son Coleman looked on. Last November, she heard from neighbors that the solar farm would surround their subdivision, and on Monday came to find out more.

Xcel Energy has yet to formally file project plans with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, the group that would ultimately grant approval or deny the project. Olson said she feels powerless in the process.

“My biggest concern is that the PSC has full control,” Olson said.

Inside the auditorium, Paul Kluskowski was one of the many residents who formally levied his concerns. He is concerned about the stability and reliability of solar power, especially such a large outlay in St. Croix County.

“They don’t have to live with their decisions, we do,” Kluskowski told the audience.

As Tiffany continued the remarks, he said that if people truly believe that man made climate change is real and happening, the only way to truly address it will be with nuclear power.

One resident suggested that the Allen S. King plant should be retrofitted with nuclear power. Minnesota currently has a moratorium on nuclear power plants.

But Tiffany used the suggestion to bring support for future nuclear facilities, mentioning smaller “modular nuclear sites.”

Reducing carbon emissions

In 2019, Xcel Energy pledged to end its coal power generation, in order to reduce carbon emissions in the Upper Midwest. At the time, company executives said a major expansion into solar energy would be needed to take the place of the shuttered coal plants.

The King plant generates about 600 megawatts. The new solar farm would exist on parcels of private property, wherein Xcel officials would enter 35-year leasing rights to place the panels. The project would occur in phases, with the first phase potentially bringing up to 350 megawatts, spread across about 2,500 acres. Of the total 5,000 acres needed, Xcel Energy officials previously said they have already secured leasing rights with landowners totaling 3,000 acres. Previously, Xcel officials said they expect to file an application for the project in mid-2025, which would kick off a 12-month to 18-month review process by the PSCW.