The Joint Development Agreement (JDA) draft between Xcel Energy and St. Croix County for the Ten Mile Creek Solar Complex has been made public. Xcel is proposing to construct and operate a solar panel electrical generating facility up to 650 megawatts. This would cover 5,000 acres, about 8 square miles, in St. Croix County. That area is about the size of New Richmond.
Last week the Community Development Committee published the final JDA draft on the county website. After reading through the document I have to ask how does this agreement in any way benefit the county? The draft appears to be one sided, and it only seems to benefit Xcel. It’s not so much what is in the document but what isn’t. The words are vague and leaves a lot of the final decisions up to Xcel. You can download the draft and read it for yourself here: JDA Draft.
Here are some of the highlights in the JDA:
- Both parties agree that the project is under the jurisdiction of the Public Service Commission of WI. How can the county actually agree to that when no one has seen the design or plans? Is it actually contiguous and continuous?
- The county agrees not to require any changes to the project. How can Xcel demand this from the county when they haven’t even seen the design or know the total scope of the project?
- Xcel will create a construction site specific emergency plan and provide it to local responders. It doesn’t mention who will bare the burden of cost for an emergency. If nothing is specified does that mean it defaults back to the county and ultimately to residents?
- Xcel will provide training for emergency responders upon a “reasonable” request, for new staff or new equipment. It doesn’t specifically say our first responders will have the correct equipment and training during the life of the project or who will pay for it.
- The JDA mentions nothing about a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) specific fire response plan that follows the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA 855) standards. Shouldn’t there be a fire response plan?
- Xcel will maintain the designated roads they use but only back to pre-construction conditions, excluding normal wear and tear. Why not act as a good neighbor and leave the roads better then how you found them, you did use county infrastructure in the first place.
- Xcel will provide an erosion control and storm water management plan to the county only 30 days before the start of construction. This project spans many roadways and parcels of land, is this enough time to even review it? The JDA says it is up to Xcel whether they want to modify the plan based on the county’s recommendations. Shouldn’t the storm water management plan be approved by the county, not left up to Xcel’s discretion.
- “Failures of the project’s drainage system to prevent unreasonable drainage onto public property and roads as well as other private property from the project site will be corrected in a timely manner.” First of all what does unreasonable drainage mean, and how long is a timely manner, who determines timeliness? Will the county or private land owners be made whole by Xcel if their property is damaged?
- Xcel wants to support the school districts where the solar array is located and the technical college with a community grant of 50,000 a year. That sounds generous on the surface but when you dig in you find that it doesn’t start until electricity is generated, and the funds will be managed by Xcel, supporting ongoing programs related to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Will the 50,000 be equally dispersed between Northwoods Technical College and New Richmond and St. Croix Central school districts or does Xcel determine how that money is used and who gets it? The JDA again is vague and doesn’t say. To put that in perspective just the New Richmond school district’s budget was 64 million in the 2023-24 school year. Xcel says the community grant will total 1.75 million over 35 years.
- Screening for adjacent landowners is only for homes with in 500 ft. of a leased boundary. A lot of the land is flat so you can see quite far out into the distance. Does limiting screening to 500 feet defeat it’s purpose, and will likely leave some home owners with an industrial utility view?
- Now what do they say about the financial assurance in support of decommissioning? Nothing of substance or anything to feel confident about. The decommissioning plan is filed with the PSC and then given to the county prior to commercial operation. “The decommissioning plan will provide an estimate of the cost and source of funding for decommissioning.” If there isn’t enough money to decommission or if the project is sold to another party who will clean it up? The landowner? The county? Shouldn’t there be more detail here so nothing is over looked?
- Vegetation management will include mowing and using herbicides to control noxious weeds. Isn’t there a better option than using poison to kill weeds? How often will they need to do that? Does this mean they wont be planting native prairie grasses and flowers?
- Are they going to remove the top soils too? The JDA makes no mention of it. St. Croix County’s geology is very unique in that we have Karst, readily dissolvable limestone bedrock. That means this area is prone to sinkholes. If the top soil is removed that is like taking away the grounds filter that slowly allows water to sink into the soil. No filter means water can dissolve the limestone that much quicker.
“Sinkholes can be dangerous for citizen safety and for infrastructure. Along with the concern related to public safety, sinkholes also function as direct conduits from the ground surface to the water table. These conduits mean that the groundwater in these areas is extremely vulnerable to contamination from the surface.” -St. Croix County website If they spray poison on the weeds and remove the top soil, now there is a direct route for contamination to go into the groundwater and into residential wells. - Due to the unique geology, shouldn’t there be test wells installed, a Karst evaluation and geotechnical evaluation done on site? There is no mention of this in the JDA.
- If any disputes cannot be resolved between the two parties, then they shall resolve the dispute through mediation. Mediation can be legally binding if both parties agree. Is this a good idea or would going to court be a better option?
There are so many things that were left out of this JDA. Did the county have any say in what went into this agreement? Does this look like the meeting of the minds? It reads like Xcel is trying to steam roll St. Croix County and make it as difficult as possible to challenge or speak up about what they are doing with our land and the impact it will have on the community.
A very important decision will be made on Tuesday July 7, 2025 at 5:00 pm. The Community Development Committee will vote on this Joint Development Agreement and then make a recommendation to the full board on August 5, 2025. St. Croix County needs to hear your voice. Is this JDA is in the best interest of the county? Come to the meeting on July 7th, bring your neighbors and your friends. Make a respectful public comment. They need to hear your voice.
St. Croix County Government Center
1101 Carmichael Road Hudson, WI
July 22, 2025 at 5:00 pm
References:
https://sccwi.portal.civicclerk.com/event/730/files/attachment/1492
https://www.sccwi.gov/979/Sinkhole-Program