Eyesores or necessary clean energy? Solar garden growth sparks debate in Hugo

A 4,000-panel solar garden installed in Hugo in 2018 brought a wave of complaints from locals who thought it was an eyesore. The City Council modified its solar ordinance, but a second solar garden proposed earlier this year sparked more local opposition.

Some residents at the public hearing said the solar arrays were like “a factory being placed next to houses” and that “the only people proposing them are not Hugo residents.” Others said prohibiting solar gardens is “too extreme” and that solar gardens can be a way for landowners to earn supplemental income and are a good fit for agricultural areas.

“I don’t want to not allow solar farms, but you don’t want to ruin a neighborhood’s character,” City Council Member David Strub said in an interview. “We’re all trying to be good neighbors.”

The city has twice put moratoriums on new solar gardens, also known as solar farms, while it studied the issue, and even considered an outright ban earlier this year. But after a July public hearing in which local opinion was split, the city opted to hold another workshop Thursday to search for a plan that would allow for more solar gardens but somehow make them palatable to the general public.

It’s a common problem, especially in rural areas, as more solar arrays crop up thanks to the falling cost of solar energy, now considered one of the cheapest ways to produce energy. Community solar gardens are the largest type of solar in Minnesota by far, producing some 865 megawatts of power, or more than the amount of power from residential, commercial and industrial solar combined. The Department of Commerce has approved 48.5 megawatts of new solar gardens so far this year, with another 6.3 megawatts under review.

They’re a popular choice for consumers because “it’s like hitting the easy button for clean, renewable energy,” said Peter Lindstrom, a spokesperson for the Clean Energy Resource Teams, a partnership between the Minnesota Department of Commerce, the University of Minnesota Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships, the Great Plains Institute and the Southwest Regional Development Commission. Solar gardens are a way for people to use solar power to lower their energy bills even if their house doesn’t get enough sunlight, if they rent, or if they can’t afford to install a solar array on their rooftop.

A community solar garden customer subscribes to the program in exchange for credits on their energy bill. Under new rules passed by the Legislature last year, a subscriber doesn’t need to live near the community solar garden they subscribe to.

That’s roused interest in building more solar gardens, and created headaches for places like Hugo.

Bruce Konewko of solar developer Cooperative Energy Futures said solar gardens don’t have to be one dimensional. They have nine solar gardens in Minnesota and rotates sheep through some of the gardens for grazing purposes.

“It’s still using the land under the solar panels and around them,” said Konewko, whether that’s for sheep grazing or planting pollinator gardens.

Concerned that small towns and counties might not have the resources to develop an effective solar ordinance, the Center for Rural Affairs surveyed every local solar ordinance in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota to create a model of best practices. The guide talks about setbacks, decommissioning, ground cover, glare, and other concerns.

“I can say this is an issue that’s not unique to Hugo,” said Cora Hoffer, a spokesperson for the Center for Rural Affairs.

Hugo adopted a solar ordinance in 2016 that included zoning restrictions and a requirement that solar gardens be limited to parcels of at least 10 acres. It also requires ground-mounted systems that can’t be taller than 15 feet.

The first solar farm in 2018 was a 1 megawatt installation near the intersection of 165th Street N. and Henna Avenue N. known as the FastSun Solar Farm. It drew complaints, according to a history of the issue prepared by city planner Max Gort, and the City Council enacted a solar moratorium in February 2023 to allow time for more study.

The city eventually increased property setbacks for solar gardens from 50 feet to 100, adding a 200-foot setback for public rights-of-way and dwellings on adjoining property. The revisions also restricted the size of solar gardens to 5 acres, required trees be planted for screening, and required that ground areas not occupied by equipment be planted with native, pollinator-friendly plants.

After modifying the solar ordinance, the City Council lifted the first moratorium in July 2023.

A new solar farm application was filed with the city this past spring, drawing “significant negative feedback” from the community at an April meeting of the city Planning Commission, according to Gort. The City Council enacted another moratorium in May and this time considered an ordinance banning solar gardens altogether.

At a Planning Commission public hearing in July, local opinion was split. Some residents said they supported renewable energy, property owners’ rights, and considered solar gardens to be a low impact, non-disruptive use. Others said solar gardens disrupted sightlines, weren’t in keeping with the character of the area and were owned by operators from outside the community. After the hearing, the Planning Commission recommended against a solar garden ban.

A workshop session at 6 p.m. Thursday at Hugo City Hall will be open to the public.

Council Member Strub said he expects the conversation to center on the portion of the ordinance that says the proposed solar garden must be compatible with the present character of the surrounding area.

“We can quantify having trees around the site, we can quantify having a fund to decommission it after 25 years,” Strub said. “All of that we’ve got lined up, but how do we quantify what the neighborhood character is?”