by Dennis Dalman
A moratorium on solar-energy projects in Sartell has been extended for a maximum of three more months in order to gather more public input about a newly drafted restrictive solar ordinance presented to the city council at its July 24 meeting.
A new citywide survey will be developed by city staff and will soon be announced so that people can use it to give input about the solar ordinance.
Solar energy is a process by which the energy from the sun is converted in a photovoltaic process into electricity via a series of solar panels that capture sunlight. Solar energy is becoming increasingly popular throughout the world as a means of helping stop climate warming due to the burning of carbon fuels.
The July 24 council meeting was a public hearing at which only one audience member spoke. He praised city staff and is in favor of the ordinance. (For more on that speaker, see section further down in this story.)
After a presentation by Sartell Project Supervisor Kari Theisen about the new ordinance, council members expressed concern that city residents might feel they have not been consulted or had enough opportunities to give their input. Those council members noted they are cognizant of the sharp criticism the council received after it approved, on a vote of 3-2, an agreement to sell city land to a private developer at a May 22 meeting. That decision caused at times angry responses from former mayors, former council members and city residents who claimed there had been little or no public input during the months of those land-sale purchase negotiations.
At the July 24 council meeting, the discussion about the new solar-projects ordinance centered mainly on ways that public input could be sought before that ordinance is approved.
It was finally decided city staff would develop a survey that residents can take online or in person so they could submit their opinions, comments and questions concerning the solar-power ordinance. There is currently one solar project that was approved by the council many months ago but that was placed on hold because of the subsequent three-month moratorium and now because of this new one. The public survey will be open to respondents’ participation for 30 days once it is developed and presented to the public.
The three-month moratorium extension will expire on Nov. 8, 2023.
The new revised ordinance presented to the council July 24 was approved earlier by the Sartell Planning Commission. The newly drafted ordinance, Theisen said, is the result of extensive research, input from area power agencies, consultations with other cities that have solar ordinances and discussions at the planning commission.
The following are some of the features of the new ordinance, which is quite restrictive. Solar-power projects, those that are approved via interim-use permits by the city, would be allowed in any zoning district in the city but subject to pre-approved restrictions that include extensive setbacks, screening, maximum heights and a decommissioning process, meaning if something goes wrong with a solar project, the city can require the problem(s) be fixed and/or the site will be returned to its original state (condition).
The ordinance will cover solar-panel installations on residential property (such as on rooftops) as well as solar “gardens” or “farms,” larger operations by companies.
The interim-use permit process would allow the city to require an “end date” to any future development for that particular permit applicant.
Testimony
At the July 24 council meeting’s public hearing, the one speaker was Evan Carlson, the CEO of the Minneapolis-based Enterprise Energy. That company is the one whose plans in Sartell were interrupted when the city imposed a solar-development moratorium about three months ago. That agreement was made between Enterprise Energy and Fitzthum Properties LLC in Sartell, a company owned by Sartell Mayor Ryan Fitzthum on whose land a solar installation would be built. Mayor Fitzthum has said repeatedly in the past he will recuse himself from voting on any matter related to that solar project.
Carlson thanked the Sartell city staff and all of those who worked hard to develop the new, revised solar ordinance. There are many restrictions in the ordinance, Carlson said, but it is, in his words, nevertheless “forward looking” and will generate tax revenue over time for the city.
Enterprise Energy is one of many companies throughout the world who installs solar panels to capture and distribute non-carbon energy from sunlight.
The following information is from the Enterprise Energy website:
“Enterprise Energy leases land for ‘Solar Gardens.’ When it puts power into the electrical grid, it receives a ‘bill credit’ from the electric utility for that amount of power. The bill credit is a right to take that same amount of power out of the electric grid somewhere else in the same electric grid at no cost. Enterprise Energy then sells the bill credit to the people who don’t have a good spot for solar, thereby allowing them to save money through solar even though they don’t have a good spot for solar panels. The people who buy the bill credits are referred to as the ‘subscribers’ since they subscribe to the Community Solar Garden by agreeing to buy the bill credits.’’
Can be tightened
In voting for the bill, the mayor and some on the council noted the ordinance could be tweaked and tightened if its current proposed restrictions should someday need fine-tuning.
To learn more about Sartell’s proposed solar ordinance, visit the City of Sartell website at sartellmn.com. Then on the top blue banner, click on “Government.” On that pull-down menu, click on “Solar Ordinance.” It’s recommended city residents learn about solar projects, what they are and what they are not, before taking the citywide survey about the solar ordinance.
For any questions related to the solar ordinance, solar moratorium or proposed solar developments please reach out to kari.theisen@sartellmn.com.
This aerial view shows a “Solar Farm” located on the campus of the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minn.
This a photo of a “solar garden” showing the long rows of photovoltaic panels that convert the sun’s energy into electricity.
