Vista Sands Solar Farm – WGF Public Testimony

WGF’s Public Testimony on the proposed Vista Sands Solar Farm

An update on how we’re fighting for renewable energy and wildlife conservation.

Wisconsin’s Green Fire (WGF) continues to seek several modifications to the proposed Vista Sands Solar Farm development. We’re working so this unprecedented expansion of renewable energy production – a necessary step toward attaining the goal of 100% carbon-free electricity by 2050 – can be achieved without impacting critical habitat needed for a threatened species, the greater prairie-chicken, to survive.

Buena Vista Prairie Chicken Meadow by Joshua Mayer via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0

WGF’s 2-page letter of testimony, Vista Sands Solar Farm public hearing, August 16, 2024

WGF’s Executive Director Meleesa Johnson spoke at the August 16 public hearing in Plover on the Vista Sands project’s Final Environmental Impact Statement. She urged the state Public Service Commission (PSC) and the project’s developer to take this opportunity to establish a model for future solar developments that will meet the state’s energy goals and protect wildlife.

“The Vista Sands project is a major step toward reaching our renewable energy goal and the many stable environmental and climate benefits of moving from a carbon-based source of energy,” Meleesa said in testimony presented at the hearing. “However, WGF doesn’t support reaching that goal at the expense of our Wisconsin threatened and endangered species. We believe that avoiding impacts and considering cumulative impacts is necessary.”

Based on recommendations from our interdisciplinary team of experts on energy, wildlife, wetlands, fisheries, and climate, we are urging the PSC to require the changes listed below if they approve the Vista Sands proposal. Read Meleesa’s full testimony from the August 16 public hearing here.

Our recommendations:

• Removing 10 Primary Array Areas (17, 20, 21, 23, 37, 38, 43, 44, 50, 51) and four Alternate Array Areas (20, 32, 41, and 53), all of which are immediately adjacent to the Buena Vista Wildlife Area.
• Establishing a half-mile buffer zone between solar arrays and Buena Vista Wildlife Area, and a one-mile buffer zone between solar arrays and prairie-chicken leks.
• Requiring that all fencing around the project be raised a minimum of 8 inches off the ground to allow for the movement of prairie-chicken hens, chicks, and other ground nesting birds, reptiles, and small mammals.
• Requiring that bird diverters [a wrapping of overhead transmission lines to make them visible to birds] be placed on any overhead transmission lines within one mile of greater prairie-chicken leks.

Advancing a clean energy future while honoring our conservation legacy

Our testimony emphasized the importance of protecting Wisconsin’s greater prairie-chickens, a true conservation success story decades in the making. Meleesa concluded her comments at the hearing, saying:

“We have an opportunity to do something historic. When the energy demands of the Industrial Revolution saw the rapid expansion of both hydroelectric and coal-fired power plants, there was no environmental impact statement, or ecological impact avoidance consideration. In the 19th Century the only consideration was the need for energy. As a result, ecosystems were forever destroyed, human health suffered, and our planet began its journey to warming. We now move forward in this 21st century phase of rapid, and essential, expansion of renewable energy. Remember that we can achieve both, building a better system that protects our wildlife and our natural resources while meeting our renewable energy goals.”

The public comment period for the Vista Sands Solar Farm closed on August 16, 2024. By mid-January 2025, the PSC must issue a decision on the project.

PSC Resources about the Vista Sands Solar Farm proposal:

• PSC webpage with summaries and documents about the Vista Sands Solar Farm project
• PSC docket of public comments on Vista Sands Solar Farm (9820-CE-100)

Related posts from WGF:

• Opportunity for Action: Public Hearing on Vista Sands Solar Farm • Wisconsin’s Green Fire (wigreenfire.org)
• WSO Program on Greater Prairie-Chickens • Wisconsin’s Green Fire (wigreenfire.org)
• WGF Submits Comments on Vista Sands Solar Farm DEIS • Wisconsin’s Green Fire (wigreenfire.org)
• Opportunity for Action: Comment on Vista Sands Solar Farm • Wisconsin’s Green Fire (wigreenfire.org)

Blog post by Don Behm, WGF Board Secretary, Communications Committee Chair

Edited by Carolyn Pralle, WGF Communications and Outreach Coordinator