Vista Sands Solar Farm reaches deal to protect greater prairie chickens in Portage County
Late last year, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin approved the Vista Sands Solar project, which will be the largest of its kind in Wisconsin and among the most powerful in the country, generating near 1.2 gigawatts of electricity.
In early February, the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation filed an appeal in Columbia County regarding the project, expressing concern for Wisconsin's threatened prairie chicken population, in an effort to stop the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin's approval of the project, according to online court records and a joint news release from the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation and Vista Sands Solar Farm.
The agreement between the Wildlife Federation and Vista Sands, which was announced Monday morning, states the Wildlife Federation will be withdrawing its appeal, as part of the agreement, pending formal approval from the Public Service Commission.
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The agreement comes after several months of discussions aimed at protecting Wisconsin's greater prairie chickens while maintaining the full capacity and progress of the solar project, according to the joint news release.
Conservationists and wildlife advocates had raised concerns about the project's proximity to the Buena Vista Grassland State Wildlife Area, home of the state's largest population of prairie chickens.
As part of the agreement, Vista Sands Solar Farm is building on its existing commitments to restoring nearly 7,000 acres of native grasslands in the region. A key element of the agreement is Vista Sands setting aside 750 additional acres for the greater prairie chicken, according to the joint news release.
Vista Sands has committed $1 million to the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation to be used for habitat restoration and land acquisition for in the prairie chicken management priority areas, according to the news release.
The Vista Sands Solar Farm plans remain on schedule and capacity remains intact, according to the news release. More than half of the project, being built by Doral Renewables, will be in the Portage County town of Grant and most of the rest will be in the town of Plover, with a small section in the village of Plover. The county and communities will receive a total of $6.5 million a year in payments from the project.
Contact Karen Madden at kmadden@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KMadden715, Instagram at @kmadden715 or Facebook at facebook.com/karen.madden.33.
This article originally appeared on Stevens Point Journal: Portage County solar farm reaches deal to protect prairie chickens
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