The Verona Press | February 1
First in state, fourth in nation to achieve energy goal
Dane County’s Yahara Solar project was recognized as part of RENEW Wisconsin’s 2023 Clean Energy Honor Roll at the 13th annual RENEW Energy Policy Summit “Unleashing the Power of Wisconsin’s Clean Energy Potential” on Feb. 1.
According to a county news release, the 17 MW Yahara Solar project has enabled Dane County facilities to offset their entire electricity use with local renewable generation. Dedicated in April 2023, Yahara Solar will produce more than 36 million kilowatt-hours of renewable electricity per year – enough to power more than 3,000 Dane County homes.
Yahara Solar enabled Dane County to become not only the first county government in the state to achieve 100% renewable electricity status, but just the fourth county in the nation to reach the 100% goal. Key partners in the project include Alliant Energy (the local utility), SunVest (the project developer and owner), and Pieper Power (the installation contractor).
“We’re proud of achieving 100% renewable status for county operations and grateful to RENEW Wisconsin for recognizing this important milestone,” said Dane County Executive Joe Parisi. “I hope this award inspires other local governments to follow our lead. Our experience demonstrates that clean energy costs less while creating family-supporting local jobs and prosperity.”
Dane County had the goal of being 100% renewable offset by 2025. According to the news release, the county achieved the goal ahead of schedule thanks to partnerships with both Alliant Energy on Yahara Solar and MGE (on the 9 MW solar project at the Dane County Regional Airport). In 2021, Executive Parisi set a new goal that county facilities, fleet, and land operations be carbon neutral by 2030.
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