(WGTD)---A solar energy project for the Town of Paris in Kenosha County is far from dead.
Bobby Howard is a manager for Invenergy, an international energy development company. "We're not at a standstill by any means," Howard said in a recent WGTD News interview. "It's really just a process of meeting with landowners, getting them comfortable with Invenergy and how the project will impact them as a landowner and their community," he said.
For nearly a year, the company has been approaching landowners in a targeted area in Paris, offering to rent land in exchange for permission to put up large solar panels. The company already has nearly 900 acres under option.
In a similar project in southwest Wisconsin, the company has amassed over 2,000 acres, and has already filed for permission to build with the state Public Service Commission.
With larger projects such as these, the company is allowed to bypass local approvals. But Howard says the company would be willing to go through a formal permitting process at the local level if the town and county so desire.
If approved, the Iowa County project, with 2,000 to 2,500 acres producing 300 megawatts of power, would be the state's largest solar energy producer, Howard said. Invenergy already has contracts with power companies for 150 megawatts from that site.
The company plans to formally update Paris officials soon on the status of that town's project, Howard said,
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