MARSHALL – More than four dozen area residents gathered at Southwest Minnesota State University on Tuesday night for another public hearing on the proposed Marshall Solar Project to be built 4 miles east of Marshall.

NextEra Energy Resources is seeking to build a 62.25 megawatt solar farm on 474 acres of land located near the intersection of Minnesota Highway 19 and Lyon County Road 9. The location was chosen because of its proximity to roads and an existing electrical substation.

However, “We have no reason to believe this land will return to prime farmland,” attorney Court Anderson said Tuesday about the site selection for the Marshall Solar Project.

Anderson, a Marshall High School graduate, represents five families who live near the proposed site that are fighting against the project. Anderson cited a rule disallowing large power plants from occupying optimal farmland and that feasible alternative sites do exist.

At the beginning of Tuesday’s hearing, a representative from NextEra stated the company has a commitment to care for the site, and at the end of the project will see that the land can be used again. NextEra also said that it has found no prudent alternatives that do not also use prime farmland.

“It would require thousands of acres to get the productivity of this prime farmland,” Anderson said.

Back in March, Brandon Stankiewicz of NextEra told the Lyon County Board that the solar panels in the project would be about 8 feet tall and mounted at an angle on fixed racks facing south. Some kinds of solar panels can turn to capture more sunlight, but they are more complex and would take up more room, he said.

Stankiewicz said in March that NextEra’s intent would be to buy the property for the solar farm and own it through a span of 25 years. At the end of the 25-year contract, he said, NextEra could evaluate whether it wanted to extend its contract or enter a new one. The estimated usable life of the solar panels is 30 to 35 years, he said.

Look for more coverage on the proposed solar farm and the two local hearings in Thursday’s paper.