Milwaukee County, WI — Solar Development Risk Assessment

No Moratorium

None codified. No confirmed county-specific setbacks.

Milwaukee County: CUP in Agricultural/Industrial district for projects <100 MW.

Generally favorable politically; land is primary constraint

Milwaukee; largest WI city; very dense urban; community/commercial solar primary; no utility-scale land; local CUP

Improving

PSC of Wisconsin has siting authority for wind/solar ≥100 MW (Wis. Stat. §196.491). Projects <100 MW: local CUP/SUP under county/town zoning governs. Local restrictions on wind systems must meet one of 3 conditions: (1) public health/safety; (2) not significantly increase cost/decrease efficiency; (3) allows comparable alternative. Local solar restrictions face similar reasonableness standard. No statewide preemption below 100 MW threshold — strong local control. MISO interconnection territory statewide.

Wisconsin RPS: 10% renewable by 2015 (met — weakest in region). Focus on Energy program: commercial/industrial rebates for solar ($150-450/kW for ≤25 kW). Property tax exemption: Wis. Stat. §70.111(18) — solar systems exempt from property tax assessment. Sales tax exemption: Wis. Stat. §77.54(57m) — solar equipment purchases exempt. Wisconsin Green Energy program: voluntary renewable program through WPS, MGE, We Energies. Alliant WPL (WI) has deployed ~1,089 MW solar by 2024; Vista Sands (1,315 MW Portage Co.) approved June 2025 — largest WI solar project. Utility: We Energies (WEC) serves SE WI/Milwaukee; WPS (WEC) serves NE WI; Alliant Energy (WPL) serves central/southern WI; MGE serves Madison metro; Xcel NSPW serves far NW WI; Dairyland Power Coop and WPPI Energy serve rural areas.

Closed Landfill Solar Project (We Energies) | 2.25 MW | Closed landfill site | OPERATIONAL — largest solar installation in Milwaukee city; powers ~460 homes. Source: fhwa.dot.gov/ipd/project_profiles We Energies Renewable Pathways Project | ~9.6 MW | Multiple former landfill sites + 5 Mile Road arrays (Caledonia) | $30M investment | APPROVED 2024. Source: urbanmilwaukee.com Feb 2024

No confirmed Wisconsin PSC CPCN denials for Milwaukee County. Wisconsin PSC holds siting authority for utility-scale; local municipalities have limited veto power under current law.