74-MW solar farm earns local approval in western Wisconsin

Pierce County officials last week signed off on plans for the installation of a 74-megawatt solar array in the town of Gilman in western Wisconsin, the latest in a series of solar farms to earn approval in the state. After a public hearing on the plan, a Pierce County commission granted a conditional-use permit on Aug. 19 for the so-called Western Mustang Solar farm, a project being developed by New York-based Ranger Power. Ranger plans to build the array on 479 acres in the township of Gilman, about 30 miles from the Minnesota border. The county's approval comes as a milestone for the project. Ranger, however, is still seeking a buyer for power generated at the solar farm and hasn't set a schedule for when construction will begin. “Ranger is committed to developing the Western Mustang Solar project in cooperation with the Pierce County community and our neighbors in the Town of Gilman," Sergio Trevino, director of permitting at Ranger Power, said in a statement. "We incorporated