WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — It remains to be seen if the Wausau Water Works Utility will move forward with building a solar array to help power the wastewater and drinking water facilities on Bugbee Avenue, but one thing is clear after Wednesday’s public input meeting on the issue.
They will not be building a full seven-acre array in the neighborhood.
Residents gather at a public input session regarding a potential solar array in Wausau. MWC photo by Mike Leischner
Public Works Director Eric Lindman says he heard everyone who spoke out against taking down trees to put a nearly seven-acre array on an eight-acre parcel near the facility. “The neighborhood is definitely OK with solar, but what it’s going to look like in their neighborhood- the aesthetics, are they going to see it?- you know, direct line of sight from the home. I think that there is some balance there we can do.”
Lindman says that could mean a smaller cluster of solar panels that partially powers the facilities while the utility fills the gaps with power from Wisconsin Public Service. During Wednesday’s meeting two other proposals were shown; one for an array of approximately three acres and one for a 1.5-acre array.
Those smaller arrays would come with smaller price tags as well but would be less efficient in powering the plant. There was also some discussion about expanding the array to the north into some land the City of Wausau currently owns that’s located in the Village of Maine. But Lindman says they have done some preliminary investigations of that property and it’s currently filled with old construction debris. “We don’t know if we would be able to get the foundations [for the panels] put in the ground,” he said.
Input from Wednesday’s meeting is being documented and those who’d like to comment can still submit their thoughts through email. The Water Works Commission will digest the input at their next meeting on December 7th. Lindman notes that the commission will not have the final say in the matter. Their recommendation will still need to be approved by the City Council. Additionally, the property for the proposed array would need to be re-zoned, meaning the city’s plan commission would need to approve that which would come with another input session and a conditional use permit.
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