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Dane County has purchased land with the intention of growing its solar power portfolio in order to supply all county operations with renewable energy.

The county announced Wednesday that it is seeking proposals to develop a solar farm on the 120-acre tract east of the county’s landfill in the town of Cottage Grove with the hope of beginning design in 2021.

The county estimates the land will support a plant roughly twice the size of a 9-megawatt project under development at the Dane County Regional Airport.

That would make it larger than any solar plant currently operating in Wisconsin, but a fraction of the size of several utility-owned projects under development.

The land includes just under 109 acres of farmland recently purchased for its assessed value of about $2.5 million.

The county said the proximity to the landfill and other county property — as well as the presence of clay that can be used at the landfill — made the land desirable, and the owners were willing to sell.