Minnesota PUC permits Lemon Hill Solar, up to 180 MW, with karst safeguards

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission has approved a site permit for Lemon Hill Solar, an up to 180 MW photovoltaic project in Olmsted County, with mitigation measures for karst geology, groundwater and private wells attached. The commission announced the decision on October 23, 2026. Construction is anticipated to begin in 2027, with commercial operation expected in 2028, per the release.

The project would occupy approximately 966 acres within a 1,945-acre site in Haverhill and Viola Townships, according to the commission's project page for Docket 25-126, and would connect through a new project substation and a 161 kV generation tie line of under 1,500 feet to a Dairyland Power Cooperative substation. The applicant is Lemon Hill Solar, LLC, which its own website describes as "A Ranger Power Project."

The project's website says the panels will be about as tall as full-grown corn; the karst conditions concern what goes in below them. Several neighbors raised that worry at the commission's November 19, 2025 public meetings in Rochester. Viola Township board chairman Jim Klavetter told KTTC "They're going to be driving over 200,000 posts into the ground," adding, "We live in a karst soil region." In June 2026 the developer filed a karst assessment addendum with its response to the project's environmental assessment, per the docket.

Under the permit, the karst protections take the form of buffers, construction restrictions and stormwater management to safeguard the geology and drinking water, and private wells get water testing, notification procedures and well-protection planning, per the release. The conditions also include a Visual Screening Plan, wildlife-permeable fencing and lighting standards, and an Agricultural Impact Mitigation Plan with topsoil preservation.

Commissioner John Tuma framed the decision as a response to public comment and an application of siting law. "Public input is a critical part of this process, and many of the mitigation measures in this permit were added or strengthened because of what we heard," he said. "At the same time, the Commission must apply the laws and rules that govern energy facility siting, and the record shows that this project meets those legal requirements."