Protect
Jefferson
County
Before
It's
Too
Late
They're calling it a "solar farm." It's a 558-acre industrial power plant planned across the working fields of Watertown, Ixonia, Farmington & Concord — and three commissioners in Madison decide, not us.
What's actually being proposed in our backyard
Every number below comes from the developer's own application to the Wisconsin Public Service Commission — Docket 9823-CE-100.1
A merchant-scale generating facility — not a family farm, not community solar.1
The footprint evaluated across four townships in the application.1
Plus ~110 more acres of substation, access roads, gen-tie and O&M building.1
34.5 kV circuits trenched under the fields, feeding a new 138 kV substation.1
In development since 2018; the developer targets an online date of 2028.1,2
Multi-decade leases; no guarantee the soil ever returns to prime cropland.3
Drag to see what they want to build
Same land. Same horizon. One of these grows food and holds our rural character — the other is 558 fenced acres of glass and steel.
Once the fences go up, it isn't a farm anymore. Slide to compare.
It isn't a farm. It's an industrial power plant on farmland.
Six documented, evidence-based reasons Jefferson County neighbors are demanding a real seat at the table.
They chose our best cropland — on purpose
The American Farmland Trust projects that of ~7 million acres of new U.S. solar by 2040, about 83% could land on agricultural land. Developers hunt flat, dry, cleared fields near power lines — the exact traits that make prime farmland.
American Farmland Trust, "Farms Under Threat 2040" (projection)4
Three commissioners decide — not us
Approval rests with three state commissioners in Madison. And under Wis. Stat. § 196.491, because it's a merchant plant selling into the wholesale market, the Commission is barred from even reviewing whether we need the power.
Wis. Stat. § 196.491; WI Legislative Council memos5
Neighboring homes lose value
A 2025 PNAS study of 8.8 million home sales and 3,699 solar sites found residential homes within three miles of large-scale solar lost 4.8% of value on average — a "stigma" cost borne by neighbors who never signed a lease.
Chen, Hu & Liu, PNAS 2025 · DOI 10.1073/pnas.24184141226
Fenced-off land fragments wildlife
A 2025 review in Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews found solar sites drive habitat loss and fragmentation, and perimeter fencing blocks the corridors animals travel. Residents have also flagged bald eagle nesting — a federally protected species — in the project area.
Fleming et al., 2025 · DOI 10.1016/j.rser.2025.115995 · PSC comment record7,3
No guarantee it ever farms again
Solar has a ~30-year life, and restoration means removing all below-ground structures, de-compacting soil and restoring drainage tile. Who does that in 2058 if the developer is bankrupt? Decommissioning bonds exist precisely because that risk is real.
Kleinman Center (UPenn); NC DEQ; DSIRE Insight8
You don't need THIS land
This isn't solar vs. no solar — it's siting. NREL found U.S. rooftops alone could supply ~39% of the nation's electricity, and the DOE and EPA push solar onto 450,000+ brownfields and landfills. The land to hit clean-energy goals exists. Prime Jefferson County cropland doesn't have to be it.
NREL rooftop assessment; DOE/EPA RE-Powering9
This project is decided in Madison — unless we show up
Public comment is our best remaining window. Here's where we are.
Invenergy starts signing landowner leases across the four towns.2
Sinnissippi Solar Energy LLC asks the PSC for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity — Docket 9823-CE-100.1
Hundreds of comments already filed. Public hearings are next — the point where residents can still change the outcome.3
Vegetation removal, grading, pile-driving and 25 miles of trenching begin across the project area.1
Target in-service date. The landscape is committed for decades.1,2
What is Sinnissippi Solar?
- A proposed 100 MW utility-scale solar power plant1
- Sited across the Towns of Watertown, Ixonia, Farmington & Concord in Jefferson County1
- 558 acres of arrays, ~25 miles of buried collector lines, a new 138 kV substation and gen-tie1
- Proposed by Sinnissippi Solar Energy LLC, a subsidiary of Chicago-based Invenergy1
- Under review by Wisconsin regulators — PSC Docket 9823-CE-1001
- Because it's a wholesale merchant plant, state law bars the PSC from reviewing whether it's needed5
Why we're standing up
- Conversion of productive prime cropland to industrial energy use for decades
- Visual impact on homes, roads, and the character of our towns
- Years of construction traffic, noise and dust on rural roads
- Unanswered questions about wildlife — including reported eagle nesting3
- Unanswered questions about archaeological & cultural resources under 25 miles of trenching
- No guarantee the soil can be restored to farmable condition after decommissioning8
- Local control stripped away — state commissioners decide, not our towns5
What we're fighting for
Protect rural character
Jefferson County's identity is farms, woodlots and open horizons — not chain-link fence and glass as far as you can see.
Wildlife & environment
Habitat fragmentation, blocked corridors and protected species deserve real, site-specific study — not boilerplate.
Cultural & historical resources
Trenching 25 miles of cable disturbs ground that may hold Native American and historical resources. Survey first.
Quality of life
Construction traffic, inverter and substation noise, dust and night lighting — imposed on families who never signed a lease.
Property rights & local control
Your biggest investment shouldn't lose value because Madison approved your neighbor's lease. Towns deserve a binding voice.
Agree with even one of these?
Then you belong in this fight. It takes 30 seconds to add your name.
Sign the petitionThree ways to make a real difference this month
Contact decision makers
File a comment on PSC Docket 9823-CE-100 and write your town board, county supervisors and state legislators. Commissioners read the record.
Open the PSC docket →Attend meetings
Town board, county Planning & Zoning, and the upcoming PSC public hearings. A full room changes outcomes — we'll tell you when and where.
Get meeting alerts →Volunteer
Host a yard sign, knock doors, gather petition signatures or help with research. Every hour moves the needle.
Raise your hand →Do your own research. We'll hand you the documents.
Once the fences go up,
they don't come down.
The Public Service Commission is weighing this project right now. Your name, your comment, and your presence at one hearing may be the difference for the next 50 years of Jefferson County.
- Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, Docket 9823-CE-100 — Sinnissippi Solar Energy Center case page & CPCN application, filed Dec 2025 (psc.wi.gov). Project specs cross-referenced via Global Energy Monitor (gem.wiki).
- Watertown Daily Times & Daily Union (2025) — reporting on project timeline: development since 2018, construction target 2027, in-service 2028.
- PSC Docket 9823-CE-100 public comment record — the PSC fielded hundreds of public comments from Jefferson County and across Wisconsin, on prime agricultural soils, reported bald eagle nesting, and soil-restoration / decommissioning uncertainty (Watertown Daily Times, "PSC fields hundreds of public comments on Sinnissippi project," 2025).
- American Farmland Trust, "Farms Under Threat 2040" — utility-scale solar white paper (2022): projection that ~7M acres of new U.S. solar by 2040, ~83% could site on agricultural land (farmland.org).
- Wis. Stat. § 196.491 (CPCN / wholesale merchant plant), with Wisconsin Legislative Council Information Memos IM-2024-01 & IM-2025-02 (docs.legis.wisconsin.gov).
- Chen, Hu & Liu, "Impact of large-scale solar on property values in the United States," PNAS (2025) — DOI 10.1073/pnas.2418414122. Residential homes within 3 miles: avg −4.8%.
- Fleming et al., "All that glitters — Review of solar facility impacts on fauna," Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews v224 (2025) — DOI 10.1016/j.rser.2025.115995.
- Kleinman Center for Energy Policy (Univ. of Pennsylvania), "Regulating Utility-Scale Solar Projects on Agricultural Land"; NC Dept. of Environmental Quality, Utility-Scale Solar Decommissioning Program; DSIRE Insight (2023) on decommissioning bonding.
- NREL, "Rooftop Solar PV Technical Potential in the United States" (NREL/TP-6A20-65298, 2016) — rooftops ≈ 39% of U.S. electricity; U.S. DOE & EPA RE-Powering, solar on brownfields & contaminated/disturbed lands.
Photography licensed for commercial use via Unsplash & Pexels (no attribution required); images are illustrative of utility-scale solar and Midwest farmland, not the Sinnissippi site itself.
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