Following receipt of discretionary permits from the Town of Westport and Village of Waunakee, OneEnergy intends to finalize engineering in the winter of 2025 and to start construction in the spring of 2026. Construction is expected to take approximately 4-6 months with final operation occurring in fall/winter of 2026. Once complete, the Project will be owned and operated by Madison Gas & Electric and generate clean power for local homes and businesses. The Project will produce enough electricity to power nearly 1,600 average Wisconsin homes, or about 50 homes per acre. 

OneEnergy will complete all environmental studies, surveys, and permits required by the County and State prior to commencement of construction, including the following: wetland delineation, Phase I Environmental Site Assessment, erosion/storm water/sediment control analysis, soil and geotechnical analysis, Wisconsin State Historic Preservation Office review, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) endangered resources review, WDNR Construction Site Storm Water Runoff permit. 

During peak construction, Six Mile Solar will support more than 30 union jobs. OneEnergy prioritizes hiring construction jobs from within the state and will work with the community to enable as much local hiring as possible. Solar installer is one of the fastest jobs in the U.S. and is a family-supporting job. Wisconsin companies we have worked with in the past include Westphal & Co. (based in Madison), Pieper Power (based in New Berlin), and Arch Electric (based in Plymouth). 

A 16-foot wide gravel access road will provide access to the site from Kennedy Drive. The site wil be enclosed by an 8-foot tall woven-wire deer exclusion-style agricultural fence, similar to what you may see around an orchard. Existing vegetation will screen the project from view of neighboring homes and roadways. Six Mile Solar will interconnect to the existing 3-phase electric distribution lines along Kennedy Drive. There are no upgrades to public infrastructure required for the project. The area beneath and around the panels will be pre-seeded with a cover crop prior to construction, and permanently planted to a low-growing perennial pollinator/prairie mix following construction. The property outside of the project leased area will continue to be in agricultural use.