County planning commission tables solar garden application

The McLeod County Planning Advisory Commission tabled a request for a conditional use permit for two one-megawatt solar gardens near Lester Prairie at its Wednesday, June 27, meeting.
Novel Energy Solar was seeking the permits to establish the gardens on property owned by Cecil Martin along County Road 9, south of Highway 7.
The primary reason the commission tabled the requests was to get better information on potential wetlands in the area. The second reason was that the applications were protested by the city of Lester Prairie because the gardens would be located within a two-mile radius of the city. The city has a 20-year urban growth plan that includes that area as a potential site for industrial development, although it has not been annexed into the city limits yet.

See the full story in the July 4 edition of The McLeod County Chronicle.