The Logan County Commission recently took action in a split 2-1 vote to approve a resolution that designates 16 of the 17 townships in Logan County (not including Miami Township) as restricted areas, prohibiting the construction of industrial wind and solar.
The commissioners’ official action took place Aug. 11 during an open meeting of the board, with President Joe Antram and member Paul Benedetti voting for the measure.
Vice President Mark Robinson cast the dissenting vote.
Their action took place shortly after the Aug. 9 hearing seeking public comment about wind and solar development, with views from both sides presented to the commissioners at the Benjamin Logan High School auditorium, as previously detailed in the Examiner.
The hearing was a requirement of Senate Bill 52, which was passed by Ohio lawmakers last year, and now gives more local control over these types of large-scale wind and solar developments.
Antram said the commissioners considered this resolution after previously receiving communication from each of the 16 township boards of trustees, requesting this restriction for their respective townships. Those requests were from: Bloomfield, Bokescreek, Harrison, Jefferson, Lake, Liberty, McArthur, Monroe, Perry, Pleasant, Richland, Rushcreek, Stokes, Union, Washington and Zane townships.
The Miami Township trustees did not make this request, Antram noted.
A number of the township trustees spoke at the public hearing last week, along with other area residents and farmers, with a number expressing concerns over the loss of farmland and fertile soil that might not recover, disruptions to animal habitat and waterways, and also raising issue over the potential for solar panel components to end up in landfills at the end of their life.
Several other speakers among the 40 who spoke disagreed with the measure prohibiting solar and wind developments, citing landowner’s personal property rights, a way to move toward the future with these projects, and some stating that the measure was too widespread and projects should be decided individually.
Locally, a grassroots No Solar in Logan County group has sprung up over this year in opposition to Fountain Point Solar Energy Center, which is proposed by Invenergy for 3,860 acres in Bokescreek, Perry and Rushcreek townships.
However, the commissioners’ recently passed resolution cannot halt this particular project or others that made application to the PJM Regional Transmission Organization prior to Oct. 11, 2021, the effective date of the SB 52.
Fountain Point is currently undergoing the permitting phase, where the Ohio Power Siting Board will review the application and then will begin its investigation. The OPSB is charged with permitting all projects over 50 megawatts in the state.
Following the investigation, the next steps the OPSB’s public hearing, which will include two parts: written or oral testimony and an adjudicatory hearing.
The OPSB accepts written comments on the project from interested persons at any time, as well as written or oral testimony from any person at the public hearing.
All correspondence and petitions to intervene for this project must include reference to Case No. 21-1231-EL-BGN.
In addition, No Solar In Logan County is currently conducting a letter-writing campaign to the OPSB. The group’s website, nosolarinlc.com, has letter templates for interested individuals.
They also are working to form an LLC and to raise funds to hire a lawyer to represent the group during the judicial period for Fountain Point and potentially other industrial solar or wind projects in Logan County as well.