Land use permits for wind energy systems shall be valid until 90 days after the system commences operation.

Land use permits for wind energy systems shall expire if construction of the wind energy system is not commenced within 24 months of the date of permit issuance.

Landowners within one mile of a planned wind turbine host property.

The department and any towns, villages, or cities within which the wind energy system may be located.

Emergency first responders and air ambulance service providers serving a political subdivision within which the wind energy system may be located.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

The Wisconsin Public Service Commission.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

The Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Defense.

A complete description of the wind energy system including the number and size of the planned wind turbines.

A map showing the planned location of all the wind energy system facilities.

Contact information for the owner.

A list of all potential permits or approvals the owner anticipates may be necessary for the construction of the wind energy system.

Whether the owner is requesting a joint application review process and the name of each political subdivision that may participate in the joint review process.

A wind energy system easement or wind access easement shall be recorded under Ch. 706, Wis. Stats. A wind energy system easement or wind access easement shall include the term of the easement and a full legal description of the property subject to the easement.

A wind energy system lease and any waiver of noise or shadow flicker requirements shall hold harmless and indemnify the real property owner for all of the following:

An owner shall make reasonable efforts to ascertain and accommodate any land use or commercial enterprise located on a nonparticipating property within 0.5 mile of a proposed wind turbine site if the land use or commercial enterprise exists when the owner gives their pre-application notice, or if complete publicly available plans for construction are on file with a political subdivision within 30 days of the date the owner gives their pre-application notice.

An owner shall design a wind energy system to reasonably minimize the conversion of land from agricultural use.

An owner shall design and construct a large wind energy system using the wind turbine setback distances shown in Table 1.

An owner shall design and construct a small wind energy system using the wind turbine setback distances shown in Table 2.

An owner shall measure wind turbine setback distances as a straight line from the vertical centerline of the wind turbine tower to the nearest point on the permanent foundation of a building or residence or to the nearest point on the property line or feature, as applicable.

An owner shall work with the department and owners of participating and nonparticipating properties to site wind turbines to minimize individual hardships.

The owner of a nonparticipating residence or occupied community building may waive the applicable large wind energy system wind turbine setback distances in Table 1 for those structures to a minimum setback distance of 1.1 times the maximum blade tip height. The owner of a nonparticipating property may waive the applicable wind turbine setback distance in Tables 1 from a nonparticipating property line.

The owner of an adjacent nonparticipating residence or adjacent occupied community building may waive the applicable small wind energy system turbine setback distances in Table 2.

The noise limits in this section apply at the outside wall of a nonparticipating residence or occupied community building that exists when the owner gives their pre-application notice, or for which complete publicly available plans for construction are on file with the department within 30 days of the date on which the owner gives their pre-application notice.

An owner shall design the proposed wind energy system to minimize noise at a residence or occupied community building to the extent reasonably practicable.

An owner shall design a wind energy system to comply with the noise limits of this chapter under planned operating conditions.

Except as provided in Wis. Adm. Code §§ PSC 128.14(4)(b), PSC 128.14(4)(c), and PSC 128.14(5), an owner shall operate the wind energy system so that the noise attributable to the wind energy system does not exceed 50 dBA during daytime hours and 45 dBA during nighttime hours.

In the event audible noise due to wind energy system operations contains a steady pure tone, such as a whine, whistle, screech, or hum, the owner shall promptly take corrective action to permanently eliminate the noise. This paragraph does not apply to sound the wind energy system produces under normal operating conditions.

If an owner uses sound level measurements to evaluate compliance with this section at a nonparticipating residence or occupied community building, those measurements shall be made as near as possible to the outside wall nearest to the closest wind turbine, or at an alternate wall as specified by the owner of the nonparticipating residence or occupied community building. The owner may take additional measurements to evaluate compliance in addition to those specified by this section.

Upon receipt of a complaint regarding a violation of the noise limits of this section, an owner shall test for compliance with the noise limits of this section. The Department or a monitoring committee established by the Department under this section may not require additional testing to show compliance with the noise limits of this section if the owner has provided the results of an accurate test conducted within two years of the date of the complaint showing that the wind energy system is in compliance with the noise limits of this chapter at the location relating to the complaint.

Methods available for the owner to comply shall include operational curtailment of one or more wind turbines. Upon receipt of a complaint about a noise under Wis. Adm. Code § PSC 128.14(3)(b), the owner shall use operational curtailment to eliminate the noise until the owner permanently corrects the problem.

An owner shall evaluate compliance with the noise limits of this section as part of pre- and post-construction noise studies. An owner shall conduct pre- and post-construction noise studies under the most current version of the noise measurement protocol as described in Wis. Adm. Code § PSC 128.50(2).

Before entering into a contract to waive the noise limits of this section, an owner of a wind energy system shall provide written notice of the requirements of Wis. Adm. Code § PSC 128.14 to the owner of an affected nonparticipating residence or occupied community building.

Before the initial operation of the wind energy system, an owner of a wind energy system shall provide notice of the requirements of Wis. Adm. Code § PSC 128.14 to an owner of a nonparticipating residence or occupied community building within 0.5 mile of a constructed wind turbine that has not entered into a contract to waive the noise limits of this section.

The shadow flicker requirements in this section apply to a nonparticipating residence or occupied community building that exists when the owner gives their pre-application notice, or for which complete publicly available plans for construction are on file with the department within 30 days of the date on which the owner gives their pre-application notice.

An owner shall design the proposed wind energy system to minimize shadow flicker at a residence or occupied community building to the extent reasonably practicable.

An owner shall use shadow flicker computer modeling to estimate the amount of shadow flicker anticipated to be caused by a wind energy system and shall design the wind energy system so that computer modeling indicates that no nonparticipating residence or occupied community building will experience more than 30 hours per year of shadow flicker under planned operating conditions.

An owner shall operate the wind energy system in a manner that does not cause more than 30 hours per year of shadow flicker at a nonparticipating residence or occupied community building. If a nonparticipating residence or occupied community building experiences more than 30 hours per year of shadow flicker under the wind energy system's normal operating conditions, the owner shall use operational curtailment to comply with the shadow flicker requirements of this chapter.

An owner of a wind energy system shall work with an owner of a nonparticipating residence or occupied community building to mitigate the effects of shadow flicker to the extent reasonably practicable.

An owner shall provide reasonable shadow flicker mitigation at the owner's expense for a nonparticipating residence or occupied community building experiencing 20 hours or more per year of shadow flicker.

An owner shall model shadow flicker, and a nonparticipating residence or occupied community building is eligible for mitigation if computer modeling shows that shadow flicker at the nonparticipating residence or occupied community building will be 20 hours or more per year. An owner of a nonparticipating residence or occupied community building is not required to document the actual hours per year of shadow flicker if modeling indicates the nonparticipating residence or occupied community building is eligible for mitigation. A nonparticipating residence or occupied community building that experiences 20 hours or more per year of shadow flicker based on records kept by the resident of a nonparticipating residence or the occupant of an occupied community building shall also be eligible for mitigation.

An owner may provide shadow flicker mitigation for any residence or occupied community building in addition to the mitigation required under Wis. Adm. Code § PSC 128.15(3)(b).

The requirement under Wis. Adm. Code § PSC 128.15(3)(b) to mitigate shadow flicker applies when the owner receives a complaint or request for mitigation regarding shadow flicker for an eligible nonparticipating residence or occupied community building. If shadow flicker mitigation is required, the owner of the wind energy system shall allow the owner of the nonparticipating residence or occupied community building to choose a preferred reasonable mitigation technique, including installation of blinds or plantings at the wind energy system owner's expense.

Small wind energy systems are exempt from the requirements to provide shadow flicker mitigation to a non-participating residence or occupied community building.

Before entering into a contract to waive shadow flicker limits, a wind energy system owner shall provide notice of the requirements of Wis. Adm. Code § PSC 128.15 to individual owners of an affected nonparticipating residence or occupied community building.

Before the initial operation of the wind energy system, a wind energy system owner shall provide notice of the requirements of Wis. Adm. Code § PSC 128.15 to an owner of a nonparticipating residence or occupied community building within 0.5 mile of a constructed wind turbine that has not entered into a contract to waive shadow flicker limits.

Small wind energy systems are exempt from shadow flicker notification requirements.

Except as provided in § 350-47A(9)(d), the signal interference requirements in this section apply to commercial communications and personal communications in use when the wind energy system begins operation.

An owner shall use reasonable efforts to avoid causing interference with commercial communications and personal communications to the extent practicable.

An owner may not construct wind energy system facilities within existing line-of-sight communication paths that are used by government or military entities to provide services essential to protect public safety. An owner must provide information showing that wind turbines and other wind energy system facilities will be in compliance with this requirement.

An owner shall use reasonable and commercially available technology to mitigate interference caused by a wind energy system with commercial communications in use when a wind energy system begins operation. Before implementing mitigation measures, the owner shall consult with affected parties regarding the preferred mitigation solution for commercial communications interference problems. Except as provided in § 350-47A(9)(d), an owner shall mitigate commercial communications interference caused by the wind energy system by making the affected party's preferred reasonable mitigation solution effective until either the wind energy system is decommissioned or the communication is no longer in use, whichever is earlier.

Small wind energy systems are exempt from the requirement to provide commercial communication interference mitigation.

An owner shall use reasonable and commercially available technology to mitigate interference with personal communications in use when a wind energy system begins operation caused by a wind energy system. An owner must use reasonable and commercially available technology to mitigate interference with personal communications that were not in use when the wind energy system began commercial operation, if a wind energy system is causing the interference and the interference occurs at a location at least 0.5 mile from a wind turbine.

Before implementing mitigation measures, the owner shall consult with affected parties regarding the preferred mitigation solution for personal communications interference problems. Except as provided in § 350-47A(9)(d), an owner shall mitigate personal communications interference caused by the wind energy system by making the affected party's preferred reasonable mitigation solution effective until either the wind energy system is decommissioned or the communication is no longer in use, whichever is earlier.

Small wind energy systems are exempt from the requirement to provide personal communication interference mitigation.

An owner shall implement a new technology solution that becomes commercially available before the wind energy system is decommissioned to address interference for which mitigation is required under this chapter and for which the original mitigation solution is only partially effective.

An owner shall work with the local electric distribution company to test for stray voltage at all dairy and confined animal operations within 0.5 mile of a wind energy system facility pursuant to the stray voltage protocol established by the commission before any wind energy system construction activity that may interfere with testing commences and again after construction of the wind energy system is completed, except as otherwise specified by commission staff under Wis. Adm. Code § PSC 128.17(1)(b).

Before any testing under Wis. Adm. Code § PSC 128.17(1)(a) begins, an owner shall work with commission staff to determine the manner in which stray voltage testing will be conducted and on which properties. The electric distribution company serving a dairy or confined animal operation where testing is required under Wis. Adm. Code § PSC 128.17(1)(a) shall conduct or arrange to conduct all required testing at the expense of the owner.

An owner may not display advertising material or signage other than warnings, equipment information, or indicia of ownership on a wind turbine. An owner may not attach any flag, decorative sign, streamers, pennants, ribbons, spinners, fluttering, or revolving devices to a wind turbine. An owner may attach a safety feature or wind monitoring device to a wind turbine.

An owner shall ensure that a wind turbine has a conventional or unobtrusive finish.

An owner shall install lighting at a wind energy system that complies with standards established by the Federal Aviation Administration. An owner must use applicable shielding or control systems approved by the Federal Aviation Administration to reduce visibility of lighting to individuals on the ground.

An owner shall take appropriate measures to ensure that a wind turbine is not readily climbable except by authorized personnel.

An owner shall ensure that all wind turbine access doors and electrical equipment are locked when authorized personnel are not present.

An owner shall place appropriate warning signage on or at the base of each wind turbine.

An owner shall post and maintain up-to-date signs containing a twenty-four-hour emergency contact telephone number, information identifying the owner, and sufficient information to identify the location of the sign within the wind energy system. An owner shall post these signs at every intersection of a wind energy system access road with a public road and at each wind turbine location.

An owner shall clearly mark guy wires and supports for a wind energy system, meteorological tower or other device for measuring wind speeds so that the wires and supports are visible to low flying aircraft under fair weather conditions.

An owner shall construct, maintain, and operate collector circuit facilities in a manner that complies with the national electrical safety code and Wis. Adm. Code Ch. PSC 114 and shall construct, maintain, and operate all wind energy system facilities in a manner that complies with the National Electrical Code.

An owner shall construct collector circuit facilities for a wind energy system underground to the extent practicable.

An owner shall establish an inspection schedule for all overhead collector circuits to ensure that third-party facilities, including cable television and telecommunications cables, are not attached or bonded to overhead collector circuit grounding. If third-party facilities are found attached to the overhead collector facilities, the owner shall ensure that the third-party facilities are promptly removed.

An owner shall construct, operate, repair, maintain and replace wind energy system facilities as needed to keep the wind energy system in good repair and operating condition and in a manner that protects individuals from injury.

An owner shall utilize all applicable best practices in the placement, construction, operation, and maintenance of its wind energy facilities in order to minimize soil compaction, protect the topsoil, prevent topsoil mixing, and avoid and repair any damage to drainage systems on agricultural land.

An owner shall describe the applicable best practices that it intends to use in the placement, construction, operation, and maintenance of its wind energy facilities in its application.

Except for the area physically occupied by the wind energy system facilities, an owner shall restore the topography, soils and vegetation of the project area to original condition after construction is complete, unless otherwise provided in a contract signed by an affected landowner, considering any modifications needed to comply with DNR requirements.

An owner shall carry general liability insurance relating to claims for property damage or bodily injury arising from the construction, operation or decommissioning of the wind energy system and shall include turbine host property owners as additional insured persons on the policy.

An owner shall notify the Department of the occurrence and nature of a wind energy system emergency within 24 hours of the wind energy system emergency.

An owner shall establish and maintain a liaison with each political subdivision within which its wind energy systems facilities are located and with fire, police, and other appropriate first responders serving the wind energy system to create emergency plans that include all of the following:

The owner shall review the emergency plan at least annually in collaboration with fire, police and other appropriate first responders to update and improve the emergency plan as needed.

The owner shall distribute current and revised copies of the emergency plan to the following:

An owner shall provide annual training for the County's Emergency Management Department, Sheriff's Department, and any other fire, police, or other first responder identified in the owner's emergency plans. An owner shall provide at least eight hours of training during each calendar year and is responsible for all direct training costs.

An owner of a wind energy system shall do all of the following:

If an owner is required to implement its emergency plans as the result of a wind energy system emergency, it shall conduct a review of employee activities to determine whether the procedures were effectively followed. The owner shall provide the County's Emergency Management Director with a copy of its review. If the review results in any changes to its emergency plans, the owner shall distribute the revised emergency plans.

Small wind energy systems are exempt from the following emergency procedure requirements:

An owner of a wind energy system shall decommission and remove the wind energy system when the system is at the end of its useful life.

A large wind energy system is presumed to be at the end of its useful life if the wind energy system generates no electricity for a continuous 360-day period.

Upon application by the owner, and except when the department finds the owner is not capable of returning the wind energy system to service with a reasonable time, the department shall grant an extension of the time period for returning the large wind energy system to service by one or more additional 180-day periods if the owner demonstrates it is likely the large wind energy system will operate again in the future and any of the following occur:

The department may deny a request for an extension if the large wind energy system has not generated any electricity for a continuous period of 540 days or more and the department finds that the owner is not capable of returning the wind energy system to service within a reasonable period of time.

A large wind energy system is irrebuttably presumed to be at the end of its useful life if the wind energy system generates no electricity for a period of 540 days and any of the following occur:

A small wind energy system is presumed to be at the end of its useful life if the wind energy system generates no electricity for a continuous 540-day period.

When decommissioning is required, the owner shall begin decommissioning within 360 days after the wind energy system has reached the end of its useful life. The owner shall complete decommissioning and removal of the wind energy system within 540 days after the wind energy system has reached the end of its useful life.

If the owner fails to remove a wind energy system and reclaim the site, the department may remove or cause the removal of the wind energy system and arrange for the reclamation of the site. The cost of removal and reclamation will become a lien upon the property and may be collected in the same manner as property taxes.

An owner shall file a notice of decommissioning completion with the county and any political subdivision within which its wind energy systems facilities are located when a wind energy system approved by the department has been decommissioned and removed.

The department shall conduct a decommissioning review to determine whether the owner has decommissioned and removed the wind energy system as required by this chapter and whether the owner has complied with its site restoration obligation in this section.

The owner shall cooperate with the department by participating in the decommissioning review process.

The owner of a large wind energy system with a nameplate capacity of one megawatt or larger shall maintain proof of the owner's ability to fund the actual and necessary cost to decommission the large wind energy system and shall ensure the availability of funds necessary for decommissioning throughout the expected life of the large wind energy system and through to completion of the decommissioning activities.

An owner may comply with financial assurance requirements by choosing to provide a bond, deposit, escrow account, irrevocable letter of credit, or some combination of these financial assurances.

Financial assurance shall place the County in a secured position. The financial assurance must provide that the secured funds may only be used for decommissioning the large wind energy system until such time as the County determines that the large wind energy system has been decommissioned or the County approves the release of the funds, whichever occurs first. The financial assurance must also provide that the County may access the funds for the purpose of decommissioning the large wind energy system if the owner does not decommission the system when decommissioning is required.

An owner shall provide the County with three estimates of the actual and necessary cost to decommission the large wind energy system. The cost estimates shall be prepared by third parties agreeable to the owner and the department. The amount of financial assurance required by the County will be the average of the three estimates.

The department may periodically request information from the owner regarding industry costs for decommissioning the large wind energy system. If the department finds that the future anticipated cost to decommission the large wind energy system is at least 10% more or less than the amount of financial assurance provided under this section, the department may correspondingly increase or decrease the amount of financial assurance required. The department may not adjust the financial assurance under more often than once in a five-year period.

The department may require an owner to submit a substitute financial assurance of the owner's choosing if an event occurs that raises material concern regarding the viability of the existing financial assurance.

Small wind energy systems shall be exempt from the requirement to meet financial assurance requirements for decommissioning the system.

Except as provided in Wis. Adm. Code § PSC 128.19(4)(b), if a wind energy system was constructed on land owned by a person other than the owner of the wind energy system, the owner of the wind energy system shall ensure that the property is restored to preconstruction condition, unless otherwise provided in a contract signed by an affected landowner, considering any modifications needed to comply with DNR requirements.

If a wind energy system was constructed on a brownfield, as defined in § 238.13(1)(a), Wis. Stats., the owner shall restore the property to eliminate effects caused by the wind energy system, except for the effects of environmental remediation activities, as defined in § 238.13(1)(d), Wis. Stats.

An owner shall file a notice of decommissioning completion with the department and the commission when a wind energy system approved by the department has been decommissioned and removed.

Within 360 days of receiving a notice of decommissioning, the department shall determine whether the owner has satisfied the applicable decommissioning requirements.

An owner shall complete and file an application with the department that includes all of the following:

Any document or paper filed or otherwise submitted by an owner or any other interested party that relates to an application must be 8-1/2 x 11 inches in size. A person who wishes to submit a paper that is larger than 8-1/2 x 11 inches in size shall also submit a reduced copy that is 8-1/2 x 11 inches in size.

Each copy of the application shall include all documents, drawings, maps, worksheets, and other materials that are included in the original application.

The owner shall submit 10 physical copies of the application to the department and one copy of the application to the clerk of each town in which any wind energy system facility is located.

The owner shall submit one digital copy of the application to the department in a format that is acceptable to the department.

On the same day an owner files an application for a wind energy system, the owner shall, under § 66.0401(4)(a)3, Wis. Stats., use commercially reasonable methods to provide written notice of the filing of the application to property owners and residents located within one mile of the proposed location of any wind energy system facility.

The notification shall include all of the following:

After the department receives an application for a wind energy system, a notice under § 66.0401(4)(a)1, Wis. Stats., shall be published. The notice shall include:

The department shall make an application for a wind energy system available for public review at a local library and at the Green Lake County Government Center (571 County Road A, Green Lake, WI, 54941) and may post copies at other publicly accessible locations. The department shall also provide public access to the application electronically.

The department shall hold a public hearing during the initial ninety-day application review period for the purpose of receiving public comments and to inform the public about a proposed large solar energy system. The first meeting shall be noticed under § 985.07(2), Wis. Stats. Additional meetings may be held and shall be noticed under § 985.07(1), Wis. Stats., or § 985.07(2), Wis. Stats.

Written comments shall be mailed, hand delivered, or emailed to the department.

If the wind energy system is proposed to be located in more than one political subdivision with jurisdiction over the wind energy system, the political subdivisions involved may conduct a joint application review process on their own motion or upon request. If an owner requests a joint application review, the owner shall include the request in its pre application notice the department. If the owner requests a joint application review process, the political subdivisions involved shall approve or deny this request within 60 days of receipt of the owner's notice of intent to file an application.

Except as provided in § 66.0401(4)(a)2, Wis. Stats., if the department elects to conduct a joint application review process, the process shall be consistent with this chapter and the political subdivisions shall establish the process within 90 days of the date the political subdivisions receive the owner's notice of intent to file an application. The department may follow the review process of another political subdivision for purposes of conducting a joint application review process concurrently with the other political subdivision. If a joint application review process is adopted, the owner shall file the joint-review process application with all of the political subdivisions participating in the joint review process.

An application is complete if it meets the content requirements of this section and Wis. Adm. Code § PSC 128.50(1).

The department shall determine the completeness of an application and shall notify the owner in writing of the completeness determination, no later than 45 days after the day the application is filed. An application is considered filed the day the owner notifies the department in writing that all the application materials have been filed. If the department determines that the application is incomplete, the notice provided to the owner shall state the reasons for the determination.

An owner may file a supplement to an application that the department has determined to be incomplete. There is no limit to the number of times that an owner may re-file an application. For incomplete applications, the owner shall provide additional information as specified in the notice determining the application is incomplete.

An additional forty-five-day completeness review period shall begin the day after the department receives responses to all items identified in the notice determining the application is incomplete.

If the department does not make a completeness determination within the applicable review period, the application is considered to be complete.

The department may request additional information necessary to understand the wind energy system after determining that an application is complete.

An owner shall provide information about whether it has consulted with and received any non-binding recommendations for construction, operating, or decommissioning the wind energy system from any federal or state agency and whether the owner has incorporated the non-binding recommendation into the design of the wind energy system.

An owner shall cooperate with any study of the effects of wind energy systems that is coordinated by a state agency.

An owner shall offer an agreement to the owner of a nonparticipating residence, if the residence is located within 1/2 mile of a constructed wind turbine, that includes the following initial annual monetary compensation of $600 for one turbine located within 1/2 mile of a nonparticipating residence, $800 for two turbines located within 1/2 mile of a nonparticipating residence, and $1,000 for three or more turbines located within 1/2 mile of a nonparticipating residence.

An owner shall offer an agreement that includes monetary compensation to a farm operator farming on a nonparticipating property located within 1/2 mile of a constructed wind turbine if the farm operator demonstrates all of the following:

An owner shall submit a copy of all necessary state and federal permits and approvals to the county within 30 days of the owner's receipt of any permit or approval that was not provided with the owner's application.

An owner shall, on or before January 31 of each year, file an annual report with the department documenting the operation and maintenance of the wind energy system during the previous calendar year.

An owner shall provide proof it has met all required financial assurance requirements of this section.

Once the owner is notified the application is complete, the department shall have 90 days to approve or deny the application. A written decision to approve or deny the application shall be provided to the owner and the commission.

The review period may be extended upon written notice to the applicant for one or more of the following reasons: but the total time for all extensions may not exceed 90 days:

If the department fails to act within the 90 days, or within any extended time period, the application will be considered approved.

The department shall provide the owner a duplicate original of the decision. The owner shall record the duplicate original with the Green Lake County Register of Deeds.

A written record of the decision shall be kept by the department until at least seven years after the system is decommissioned.

A written decision shall specify the reason(s) for denial.

A written record of the decision shall be kept by the department for at least seven years after the decision to deny is issued.

The record of a department decision shall include:

The department shall give written notice to the owner of it's intent to require 50% payment of the application review fee.

An owner may not make a material change in the approved design, location or construction of a wind energy system without the prior written approval of the department.

An owner shall submit an application for a material change to an approved wind energy system to the department.

The department may not reopen the merits of the earlier approval but shall consider only those issues relevant to the proposed change.

The department may hold at least one public meeting to obtain comments on and to inform the public about a proposed material change to an approved wind energy system.

An owner shall maintain a maintenance log for each wind turbine. The log must contain the following information regarding any maintenance performed on the wind turbine:

An owner shall, at the owner's expense, provide the department with a copy of the maintenance log for each wind turbine for each month within five calendar days after the end of the month.

The department may contract with a third-party inspector to monitor and report to the department regarding the owner's compliance with permit requirements during construction and operation.

The inspector monitoring compliance shall also report to a state permitting authority upon the state permitting authority's request.

The inspector shall make monthly written reports to the department.

The owner shall reimburse the department for the actual and necessary cost of the inspector.

An aggrieved person may make a complaint regarding failure by an owner to comply with an obligation under this section.

A complaint shall be made first to the owner of the wind energy system pursuant to a complaint resolution process developed by the owner.

A complainant may petition the department for review of a complaint that is not resolved within 45 days of the day the owner receives the original complaint.

The department shall issue a written decision and may take such enforcement action as it deems appropriate with respect to the complaint.

An owner shall use reasonable efforts to resolve complaints regarding a wind energy system and shall investigate complaints regarding a wind energy system at the owner's expense.

Upon receipt of a complaint, an owner shall provide the complainant with a copy of the notice described in § 350-47A(26). Within 30 days of receiving a complaint, an owner shall provide an initial response to the complainant.

An owner shall make a good faith effort to resolve complaints within 45 days of receiving a complaint. An owner shall notify the department of complaints that have not been resolved within 45 days of the date the owner received the original complaint.

An owner shall maintain a log of all complaints received regarding the wind energy system. The owner shall include in the log the name and address of each complainant, the nature of each complaint, and the steps taken to resolve each complaint. An owner shall provide a copy of a complaint log monthly, at no cost, to the department. An owner shall make any complaint log available to the commission upon request.

An owner shall develop a complaint resolution process that is consistent with Wis. Adm. Code § PSC 128.40(2).

The department may establish a monitoring committee to oversee resolution of complaints regarding a large wind energy system. A monitoring committee shall include on the committee a member who is a local employee of an owner of a large wind energy system and, if in existence, at least one nonparticipating landowner residing in the Green Lake County within 0.5 mile of a wind turbine that is located in the Green Lake County.

A monitoring committee may do any of the following:

If a wind energy system is located in more than one political subdivision with jurisdiction over the wind energy system and multiple political subdivisions decide to establish a monitoring committee, the political subdivisions shall jointly establish a single monitoring committee to oversee resolution of complaints regarding the wind energy system.

Before construction of a wind energy system begins, an owner shall provide written notice of the process for making complaints and obtaining mitigation measures to all residents and landowners within 0.5 mile of any wind energy system facility. An owner shall include in the notice the requirements for submitting a complaint to the owner, a petition for review to the department, and an appeal to the commission, and shall include a contact person and telephone number for the owner for receipt of complaints or concerns during construction, operation, maintenance and decommissioning.

Small wind energy systems are exempt from this notification requirement.

An owner shall, before construction of a wind energy system begins, provide the department with a copy of the notice issued to property owners, along with a list showing the name and address of each person to whom the notice was sent and a list showing the name and address of each political subdivision to which the notice was sent.

An owner shall, before construction of a wind energy system begins, file with the department the name and telephone number of the owner's contact person for receipt of complaints or concerns during construction, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning. The owner shall keep the name and telephone number of the contact person on file with the department current.

Small wind energy systems are exempt from this notification requirement.

Land use permits for large solar energy systems shall be valid until 90 days after the system commences operation.

Land use permits for large solar energy systems shall expire if construction of the solar energy system is not commenced within 24 months of the date of permit issuance.

An owner shall design a large solar energy system to reasonably minimize the conversion of land from agricultural use.

To the extent feasible and practical, use existing agricultural land for both agriculture and electricity. Possible options include but are not limited to:

An owner shall design and construct a large solar energy system using the setback distances listed in §§ 350-20 and 350-50.

An owner shall work with the department and owners of participating and nonparticipating properties to site a large solar energy system to minimize individual hardships.

Battery energy storage systems over 1 MWh shall not be located within 150 feet of a nonparticipating residence or well.

An owner shall design the proposed large solar energy system to minimize noise at a residence or occupied community building to a threshold no greater than 50 decibels during daytime hours or 45 decibels during nighttime hours.

An owner shall work with the local electric distribution company to test for stray voltage at all dairy and confined animal operations within 0.5 mile of a large solar energy system facility pursuant to the stray voltage protocol established by the commission before any solar energy system construction activity that may interfere with testing commences and again after construction of the solar energy system is completed.

Before any testing, an owner shall work with commission staff to determine the manner in which stray voltage testing will be conducted and on which properties. The electric distribution company serving a dairy or confined animal operation where testing is required shall conduct or arrange to conduct all required testing at the expense of the owner.

An owner and the electric distribution company shall provide to commission staff the results of all stray voltage testing in writing.

An owner shall work with the electric distribution company and farm owner to rectify any stray voltage problems attributable to the construction and operation of the large solar energy system, in compliance with the commission's stray voltage protocol.

An owner shall ensure that all large solar energy system facility access doors, gates, and electrical equipment are locked when authorized personnel are not present.

An owner shall place appropriate warning signage on or at the entrance of each large solar energy system facility.

An owner shall post and maintain up-to-date signs containing a twenty-four-hour emergency contact telephone number, information identifying the owner, and sufficient information to identify the location of the sign within the large solar energy system. An owner shall post these signs at every intersection of a solar energy system access road with a public road.

An owner may not display advertising material or signage other than warnings, equipment information, or indicia of ownership on a large solar energy system. An owner may not attach any flag, decorative sign, streamers, pennants, ribbons, spinners, fluttering, or revolving devices to a large solar energy system. An owner may attach a safety feature to a large solar energy system.

All lighting at a large solar energy system shall be installed in compliance with standards established by § 350-23.

An owner shall construct, maintain, and operate collector circuit facilities in a manner that complies with the National Electrical Safety Code and Wis. Adm. Code Ch. PSC 114 and shall construct, maintain, and operate all large solar energy system facilities in a manner that complies with the National Electrical Code.

An owner shall construct, operate, repair, maintain and replace large solar energy system facilities as needed to keep the large solar energy system in good repair and operating condition and in a manner that protects individuals from injury.

An owner shall utilize all applicable best practices in the placement, construction, operation, and maintenance of its large solar energy facilities in order to minimize soil compaction, protect the topsoil, prevent topsoil mixing, and avoid and repair any damage to drainage systems on agricultural land.

An owner shall describe the applicable best practices that it intends to use in the placement, construction, operation, and maintenance of its large solar energy facilities in its application.

Except for the area physically occupied by the large solar energy system facilities, an owner shall restore the topography, soils and vegetation of the project area to original condition after construction is complete, unless otherwise provided in a contract signed by an affected landowner, considering any modifications needed to comply with DNR requirements.

An owner shall carry general liability insurance relating to claims for property damage or bodily injury arising from the construction, operation or decommissioning of the large solar energy system and shall include host property owners as additional insured persons on the policy.

An owner shall notify the department of the occurrence and nature of a large solar energy system emergency within 24 hours of the large solar energy system emergency.

An owner shall establish and maintain a liaison with each political subdivision within which its large solar energy systems facilities are located and with fire, police, and other appropriate first responders serving the large solar energy system to create emergency plans that include all of the following:

The owner shall review the emergency plan at least annually in collaboration with fire, police and other appropriate first responders to update and improve the emergency plan as needed.

The owner shall distribute current and revised copies of the emergency plan to the following:

An owner shall provide annual training for the County's Emergency Management Department, Sheriff's Department, and any other fire, police, or other first responder identified in the owner's emergency plans.

An owner of a large solar energy system shall do all of the following:

If an owner is required to implement its emergency plans as the result of a large solar energy system emergency, it shall conduct a review of employee activities to determine whether the procedures were effectively followed. The owner shall provide the county's emergency management director with a copy of its review. If the review results in any changes to its emergency plans, the owner shall redistribute the revised emergency plans.

An owner of a large solar energy system shall decommission and remove the large solar energy system when the system is at the end of its useful life.

A large solar energy system is presumed to be at the end of its useful life if the large solar energy system generates no electricity for a continuous 360-day period.

Upon application by the owner, and except when the department finds the owner is not capable of returning the large solar energy system to service with a reasonable time, the department shall grant an extension of the time period for returning the large solar energy system to service by one or more additional 180-day periods if the owner demonstrates it is likely the large solar energy system will operate again in the future and any of the following occur:

The department may deny a request for an extension if the large solar energy system has not generated any electricity for a continuous period of 540 days or more and the department finds that the owner is not capable of returning the large solar energy system to service within a reasonable period of time.

A large solar energy system is irrebuttably presumed to be at the end of its useful life if the large solar energy system generates no electricity for a period of 540 days and any of the following occur:

When decommissioning is required, the owner shall begin decommissioning within 360 days after the large solar energy system has reached the end of its useful life. The owner shall complete decommissioning and removal of the large solar energy system within 540 days after the large solar energy system has reached the end of its useful life.

If the owner fails to remove a large solar energy system and reclaim the site, the department may remove or cause the removal of the large solar energy system and arrange for the reclamation of the site. The cost of removal and reclamation will become a lien upon the property and may be collected in the same manner as property taxes.

An owner shall file a notice of decommissioning completion with the county and any political subdivision within which its large solar energy systems facilities are located when a large solar energy system approved by the department has been decommissioned and removed.

The department shall conduct a decommissioning review to determine whether the owner has decommissioned and removed the large solar energy system as required by this chapter and whether the owner has complied with its site restoration obligation in this section.

The owner shall cooperate with the department by participating in the decommissioning review process.

Within 360 days of receiving a notice of decommissioning, the department shall determine whether the owner has satisfied the applicable decommissioning requirements.

The owner of a large solar energy system shall maintain proof of the owner's ability to fund the actual and necessary cost to decommission the large solar energy system and shall ensure the availability of funds necessary for decommissioning throughout the expected life of the large solar energy system and through to completion of the decommissioning activities.

An owner may comply with financial assurance requirements by choosing to provide a bond, deposit, escrow account, irrevocable letter of credit, or some combination of these financial assurances.

Financial assurance shall place the County in a secured position. The financial assurance must provide that the secured funds may only be used for decommissioning the large solar energy system until such time as the County determines that the large solar energy system has been decommissioned or the County approves the release of the funds, whichever occurs first. The financial assurance must also provide that the County may access the funds for the purpose of decommissioning the large solar energy system if the owner does not decommission the system when decommissioning is required.

An owner shall provide the County with three estimates of the actual and necessary cost to decommission the large solar energy system. The cost estimates shall be prepared by third parties agreeable to the owner and the department. The amount of financial assurance required by the County will be the average of the three estimates.

The department may periodically request information from the owner regarding industry costs for decommissioning the large solar energy system. If the department finds that the future anticipated cost to decommission the large solar energy system is at least 10% more or less than the amount of financial assurance provided under this section, the department may correspondingly increase or decrease the amount of financial assurance required. The department may not adjust the financial assurance under more often than once in a five-year period.

The department may require an owner to submit a substitute financial assurance of the owner's choosing if an event occurs that raises material concern regarding the viability of the existing financial assurance.

If a large solar energy system was constructed on land owned by a person other than the owner of the large solar energy system, the owner of the large solar energy system shall ensure that the property is restored to preconstruction condition, unless otherwise provided in a contract signed by an affected landowner, considering any modifications needed to comply with DNR requirements.

If a large solar energy system was constructed on a brownfield, as defined in § 238.13(1)(a), Wis. Stats., the owner shall restore the property to eliminate effects caused by the large solar energy system, except for the effects of environmental remediation activities, as defined in § 238.13(1)(d), Wis. Stats.

An owner shall file an application to construct a large solar energy system with the department.

An owner shall complete and file an application with the department that includes all of the following:

Any document or paper filed or otherwise submitted by an owner or any other interested party that relates to an application must be 8-1/2 x 11 inches in size. A person who wishes to submit a paper that is larger than 8-1/2 x 11 inches in size shall also submit a reduced copy that is 8-1/2 x 11 inches in size.

The owner shall ensure that information contained in an application is accurate.

Each copy of the application shall include all documents, drawings, maps, worksheets, and other materials that are included in the original application.

The owner shall submit 10 physical copies of the application to the department and one copy of the application to the clerk of each town in which any large solar energy system facility is located.

The owner shall submit one digital copy of the application to the department in a format that is acceptable to the department.

The department shall make an application for a large solar energy system available for public review at the Green Lake County Government Center (571 County Road A, Green Lake, WI, 54941) and may post copies at other publicly accessible locations. The department shall also provide public access to the application electronically.

The department shall hold a public hearing during the initial ninety-day application review period for the purpose of receiving public comments and to inform the public about a proposed large solar energy system. The first meeting shall be noticed under § 985.07(2), Wis. Stats. Additional meetings may be held and shall be noticed under § 985.07(1), Wis. Stats., or § 985.07(2), Wis. Stats.

Written comments shall be mailed, hand delivered, or emailed to the department.

If the large solar energy system is proposed to be located in more than one political subdivision with jurisdiction over the large solar energy system, the political subdivisions involved may conduct a joint application review process on their own motion or upon request. If an owner requests a joint application review, the owner shall include the request in its application notice the department. If the owner requests a joint application review process, the political subdivisions involved shall approve or deny this request within 60 days of receipt of the owner's application.

Except as provided in § 66.0401(4)(a)2, Wis. Stats., if the department elects to conduct a joint application review process, the process shall be consistent with this chapter and the political subdivisions shall establish the process within 90 days of the date the political subdivisions receive the owner's application. The department may follow the review process of another political subdivision for purposes of conducting a joint application review process concurrently with the other political subdivision. If a joint application review process is adopted, the owner shall file the joint-review process application with all of the political subdivisions participating in the joint review process.

An application is complete if it meets the content requirements of this section.

The department shall determine the completeness of an application and shall notify the owner in writing of the completeness determination, no later than 45 days after the day the application is filed. An application is considered filed the day the owner notifies the department in writing that all the application materials have been filed. If the department determines that the application is incomplete, the notice provided to the owner shall state the reasons for the determination.

An owner may file a supplement to an application that the department has determined to be incomplete. There is no limit to the number of times that an owner may re-file an application. For incomplete applications, the owner shall provide additional information as specified in the notice determining the application is incomplete.

An additional forty-five-day completeness review period shall begin the day after the department receives responses to all items identified in the notice determining the application is incomplete.

If the department does not make a completeness determination within the applicable review period, the application is considered to be complete.

The department may request additional information necessary to understand the solar energy system after determining that an application is complete.

Upon receiving an application, the department shall determine whether it is complete and, no later than 45 days after the application is filed, notify the applicant about the determination.

After receiving the application for approval, the department shall publish a class 1 notice, under § 985.07(1), Wis. Stats., stating that an application for approval has been filed with the department.

An owner shall provide information about whether it has consulted with and received any non-binding recommendations for construction, operating, or decommissioning the large solar energy system from any federal or state agency and whether the owner has incorporated the non-binding recommendation into the design of the large solar energy system.

An owner shall cooperate with any study of the effects of large solar energy systems that is coordinated by a state agency.

An owner shall submit a copy of all necessary state and federal permits and approvals to the county within 30 days of the owner's receipt of any permit or approval that was not provided with the owner's application.

An owner shall, on or before January 31 of each year, file an annual report with the department documenting the operation and maintenance of the large solar energy system during the previous calendar year.

An owner shall provide proof it has met all required financial assurance requirements of this section.

Once the owner is notified the application is complete, the department shall have 90 days to approve or deny the application. A written decision to approve or deny the application shall be provided to the owner and the commission.

The review period may be extended upon written notice to the applicant for one or more of the following reasons, but the total time for all extensions may not exceed 90 days:

If the department fails to act within the 90 days, or within any extended time period, the application shall be considered approved.

The department shall provide the owner a duplicate original of the decision. The owner shall record the duplicate original with the Green Lake County Register of Deeds.

A written record of the decision shall be kept by the department until at least seven years after the system is decommissioned.

A written decision shall specify the reason(s) for denial.

A written record of the decision shall be kept by the department for at least seven years after the decision to deny is issued.

The record of a department decision shall include:

An owner may not make a material change in the approved design, location or construction of a large solar energy system without the prior written approval of the department.

An owner shall submit an application for a material change to an approved large solar energy system to the department.

The department may not reopen the merits of the earlier approval but shall consider only those issues relevant to the proposed change.

The department may hold at least one public meeting to obtain comments on and to inform the public about a proposed material change to an approved large solar energy system.

An owner shall maintain a maintenance log for the large solar energy system. The log must be submitted to the department annually. The log must contain the following information regarding any maintenance performed on the large solar energy system:

The department may contract with a third-party inspector to monitor and report to the department regarding the owner's compliance with permit requirements during construction and operation.

The inspector monitoring compliance shall also report to a state permitting authority upon the state permitting authority's request.

The inspector shall make monthly written reports to the department.

The owner shall reimburse the department for the actual and necessary cost of the inspector.

An aggrieved person may make a complaint regarding failure by an owner to comply with an obligation under this chapter.

A complaint shall be made first to the owner of the large solar energy system pursuant to a complaint resolution process developed by the owner.

A complainant may petition the department for review of a complaint that is not resolved within 45 days of the day the owner receives the original complaint.

The department shall issue a written decision and may take such enforcement action as it deems appropriate with respect to the complaint.

An owner shall use reasonable efforts to resolve complaints regarding a large solar energy system and shall investigate complaints regarding a large solar energy system at the owner' s expense.

Before construction of a large solar energy system begins, an owner shall provide written notice of the process for making complaints and obtaining mitigation measures to all residents and landowners within 0.5 mile of any large solar energy system facility. An owner shall include in the notice the requirements for submitting a complaint to the owner, a petition for review to the department, and an appeal to the commission, and shall include a contact person and telephone number for the owner for receipt of complaints or concerns during construction, operation, maintenance and decommissioning.

An owner shall, before construction of a large solar energy system begins, provide the department with a copy of the notice issued along with a list showing the name and address of each person to whom the notice was sent and a list showing the name and address of each political subdivision to which the notice was sent.

An owner shall, before construction of a large solar energy system begins, file with the department the name and telephone number of the owner's contact person for receipt of complaints or concerns during construction, operation, maintenance, and decommissioning. The owner shall keep the name and telephone number of the contact person on file with the department current.