Buckeye Reporter

The Supreme Court of Ohio recently agreed that two solar farms in Preble County can move forward with construction. The decision affirmed an earlier decision by the Ohio Power Siting Board 

According to court documents, the case was advanced to the Supreme Court after the Power Siting Board's decision had been challenged by the Concerned Citizens of Preble County and several residents who live near the proposed plants. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs claimed "that the board misinterpreted and misapplied its own rules by not requiring Alamo and Angelina to submit all the information required by those rules."

In its decision on Oct. 18, the Supreme Court noted, "...we may reverse a board order only if we find it to be unlawful or unreasonable." The court found that the plaintiffs had not proved that the board's decision was either.

In an October 18 Facebook post, Preble County resident Jill Sorrell said that it was a "sad day for Preble County" when the decision was announced. She added, "Our farm is right beside the solar farm and across the road. We are very concerned about our tile, run off on crops, where's the wildlife going to go, value on our property, the maintenance on them once they are done. It's been a five year process our attorney and group has done a great job but how do you beat the government. I will be heartbroken the rest of my life."

Christy Stenger, a resident living near one of the solar farms, also reacted on Facebook saying, "My husband and I got a phone call from the solar farm company that are suppose to be next to us. The lady sounded as if it's a done deal now. We will be surrounded if we can't stop this."

The Alamo Solar Project is one of the solar farms that received a green light from the Supreme Court. According to the project website, the 69.9-megawatt solar project, located in Gasper and Washington Townships, will occupy about 900 acres of agricultural land and "consist of thousands of interconnected solar modules mounted on racking affixed to steel pilings driven into the ground."

The second solar farm that received approval is the Angelina Solar project. According to Angelina's website, the project will be located in Israel and Dixon Townships. It will be an 80-megawatt solar farm operating on an "827-acre area of privately owned land approximately 4 miles north of College Corner, Ohio."

Open Road Renewables is the Austin, Texas-based developer for both the Alamo and Angelina projects, according to the company's website. It claims it is "directly responsible for development of a total of over 1.9 gigawatts of renewable energy projects currently under construction or operating and over 5 GW more under development from Maryland to Texas."

Coldwell Solar, a power system engineering and project management firm in California, says that it typically costs between $890,000 to $1 million per megawatt to build a solar farm. With 1.9 gigawatts in Open Road Renewables' portfolio, this represents a possible investment of perhaps $1.9 billion. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, most solar project construction since 2006 has been eligible for a 30 percent credit on federal income taxes. This means that Open Road Renewables could be eligible for federal tax credits of up to $570 million.

According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, through June 2023, there were 1.38 megawatts of solar generation installed in Ohio, representing an investment of more than $2 billion. Ohio ranks 22nd in the nation for installed solar generation, up from 32nd last year.