Buckeye Reporter

Rusty Durbin, a local farmer concerned about the development of solar farms in Clermont County, was elected as a trustee in Tate Township on Tuesday. Election returns from the Clermont County Board of Elections show that Durbin beat incumbent Bobby Reddin with 54 percent of the vote.

Nestlewood Solar is a large-scale commercial solar project in Clermont and Brown counties, according to its website. The project spans over about 610 acres and consists of thousands of solar panels on metal frames. Its construction began earlier this year and caught some residents by surprise.

Among those surprised was Rusty Durbin. "My wife and I came home from Bible study and there were stakes out there, benchmark stakes", said Durbin, as reported by WCPO in Cincinnati. "She’s ready to sell the farm, and I’m like, ‘I’m not selling the farm. We’re going to stand up.’"

The Durbins weren't alone in their surprise regarding Nestlewood Solar's development. Late last year, Lucinda Chandler, a Brown County resident wrote to the Ohio Public Utilities Commission stating: "I just became aware of the construction of the Nestlewood - 18-1546-EL-B6N Solar Farm facility in Brown and Clermont counties last week." She raised concerns regarding public notice for projects like Nestlewood questioning why she was not made aware of such a proposal or where notices had been posted.

Certain property owners in the area discovered about Nestlewood while it was still under consideration by the Ohio Power Siting Board. Robin Colligan, a local resident submitted a petition signed by 31 locals listing their concerns about Nestlewood's impact on local landscape, toxicity of solar panels among other issues.

Colligan criticized Nestlewood as being wasteful writing that it imposed upon residents' well-being while negatively impacting property values along with causing stress.

These concerns were also presented to the Tate Township Board of Trustees. In a meeting in Jan., Durbin, along with almost 200 residents made their views known. "Approximately 200 people showed up. They had to take the fire trucks out so we could sit out in the fire house," said Durbin.

Despite Clermont County Commissioners voting to ban utility-scale solar and wind farms in some unincorporated areas of the county in Jun., these issues remained part of public discussion.

The race between Durbin and Redden also included debate over these concerns. Shelby Baird, a sixth-generation township resident described it as more than an ordinary election but as "a referendum on the future of solar farms, the current power structure, and how 9,100 residents want their land to look for the next generation", as reported by WCPO.