County may lease park land for solar panel field

The Ozaukee County Public Works Committee last month voted that the county negotiate the terms under which it would lease 3.9 acres at Mee-Kwon Park Golf Course in Mequon to We Energies to erect solar panels.

Last week’s vote doesn’t obligate the county to leasing the land but reserves a place for the county in the company’s Solar Now program, of which the Village of Saukville and Port Washington-Saukville School District have already become a part. 

We Energies proposed in November paying the county $42,277 a year for 20 years to rent the land and install the panels that would generate 1.22 megawatts of electricity.

The panels would be installed on the south end of the park that currently is earmarked for passive uses, such as trails and dog walking, officials said.

At one time, a driving range had been proposed for the site, officials said.

“We looked at other areas, including the (county) gravel pit” in the Town of Saukville, County Administrator Jason Dzwinel told the committee. “I believe they locked onto this site because of the nearness to the grid.”

The proposal is part of the company’s Solar Now, or Rent-a-Roof, program, which seeks to lease space on government or non-profit roof tops or land and install solar panels, covering the cost of equipment, installation and maintenance.

It differs from traditional solar power programs in which participants pay the cost of installing and maintaining panels in exchange for energy credits.

Under Solar Now, the owners of the building or land on which the solar panels are mounted receive rental payments but no credits for the energy, which goes on the grid.

The Village of Saukville and the school district have already agreed to participate in the program and are estimated to receive $21,356 and $8,717 per year, respectively.

If approved the lease would expire after 20 years, after which the county could purchase the solar system or We Energies would remove it.

“Ultimately we will do some outreach to the neighbors” of the site, Dzwinel said.

The county Energy Action Commission recommended approving the terms to the Public Works Committee.

The Energy Action Commission was formed earlier this year to oversee energy policy and usage in county buildings and programs and make recommendations to Public Works.