Taking it to the Supreme Court? Ohioans still fighting massive Oak Run Solar
Solar

Taking it to the Supreme Court? Ohioans still fighting massive Oak Run Solar

Last Thursday, the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) authorized Scioto Ridge Solar to construct and operate a 110 megawatt (MW) solar generation facility and a 20 MW battery energy storage system in Hardin County.

The Board also revisited some business it had already attended to- the fate of one of the largest solar and storage projects in the United States.

The OPSB denied the joint application for a rehearing filed by the Deercreek, Monroe, and Somerford boards of township trustees and the Madison County Board of Commissioners regarding the OPSB’s previous approval of the Oak Run Solar Project in Madison County back in March.

The Ohio Siting Board was so done with it that the decision didn’t even get its own press release on its website.

A map of the Oak Run Solar project. Solar arrays are shown in pink; the BESS buildings are blue; the project substations are green; the project’s switchyard is in yellow (courtesy: OPSB)

Shell subsidiary Savion’s Oak Run project will span about 4,400 acres in those aforementioned townships on land partially owned by Microsoft’s Bill Gates. It will generate up to 800 MW from its solar array, which features panels installed on a ground-mounted solar tracking rack system. The project also includes a 300 MW BESS and will employ thousands of sheep to graze on-site in one of the largest-known agrivoltaic operations.

According to local television station NBC4, the rehearing was dismissed by the Board by a vote of seven to one, with the lone dissent stemming from Madison County Commissioner Chris Wallace.

“The decision by the Ohio Power Siting Board to deny our request for a rehearing is a clear disregard for the voices of Madison County residents and their elected representatives,” Wallace told NBC4. “This is not just a loss for our community; it’s a troubling precedent where the will of the people is overlooked in favor of corporate interests.”

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Now (again) out of the OPSB’s hands, Wallace told the station he is considering taking his opposition for Oak Run Solar to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Numerous precautions have been taken by Oak Run Solar to ensure the site’s safety and to minimize disruption to the public. Seven-foot-tall perimeter fencing will secure the facility with access through gated entrances. The solar modules will be set back at least 300 feet from non-participating residences and 150 feet from adjacent roads and non-participating property boundaries. More than 44 miles of new access roads have been proposed for the facility, according to documents filed with the OPSB.

Ohio is recognized as one of the most hostile states for renewable energy development, as exhibited by resistance to the Oak Run project, which is expected to bring in a quarter of a billion dollars in tax revenue to Madison County over its expected 35-year operation and create hundreds of temporary and dozens of long-term jobs. During a March 2024 meeting to approve the project, two local officials spoke against the solar farm, per NBC4. One of them was Somerford Township Trustee Jim Moran.

“We in Madison County feel that our contribution to alternative energy has certainly been met or exceeded,” Moran told the OPSB, expressing concern that too much of Ohio’s prime farmland is being taken out of production.

Some renewable energy projects are making it through in Ohio- which is among a select few states with 10 or more clean projects announced since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act two years ago. Most of the projects approved in Ohio (at least 8) have come through the state’s 9th congressional district, represented by Democrat Marcy Kaptur.

Construction on Oak Run Solar is expected to begin sometime in 2025.