Solar Energy Works

This letter to the editor, by Pam Fricke, appeared in the Hudson Star Observer on December 11, 2025.

on Solar energy works I’ve been following the St. Croix County Board’s review of the Ten Mile Creek solar farm with great interest, especially the deeper dive into safety, appearance and decommissioning.

What should not be up for debate is whether solar power works. Of course, it does. Millions of homeowners have installed rooftop solar to save money and reduce their carbon footprint. Moreover, corporations that keep a sharp eye on the bottom line would not invest in solar energy if it didn’t provide a solid return.

Take Koch Industries for example. Its Flint Hills’ Pine Bend Refinery in Rosemount, south of St. Paul, spent $75 million to build a 300-acre solar farm to power refinery operations. When a refinery that produces most of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel in this region turns to solar energy, that makes the most effective argument that solar power works.

With Koch leading the way, Marathon Refineries in Illinois and Chevron in California have also installed large-scale solar generation at their respective refineries.

So leave the myopic skepticism aside. Let’s focus on supporting our board to negotiate the best deal possible with Xcel Energy.