Board denies site to build solar farm

COLUMBUS- The Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) on Thursday denied Lightsource BP's site certificate to build a 300 megawatt solar farm in Allen and Auglaize County.

Project director Shanelle Montana said Lightsource BP plans to appeal the decision.

"We are going to move forward and we believe there is public support for this project," Montana said.

Lightsource BP sought to create Birch Solar, a 1,410-acre utility-scale solar farm with the potential to create enough energy to power 55,000 homes. However, the energy would have been sold to Amazon.

According to the OPSB decision, "the record establishes that the Project fails to serve the public interest, convenience, and necessity." OPSB staff reports and recommendations also alleged the project was unanimously opposed.

However, Montana said she found it disrespectful to citizens that OPSB said opposition was unanimous. The Allen Auglaize Coalition for Reasonable Energy (AACRE) has been a supporter of the project as it proceeded through public hearings and intervened in the process, she said.

"They basically ignored us," AACRE organizer Michael Wildermuth said. "There is local opposition and they never mentioned the local support."

As the project worked its way through OPSB, Senate Bill 52 became law. The law allows county officials to draw maps prohibiting utility-scale wind and solar development projects. However, due to the timing those maps would not apply to the Birch Solar project.

In April, Auglaize County Commissioners submitted a resolution and corresponding map to OPSB proposing to exempt the entire county from certain large scale wind and solar facilities, despite Birch Solar being grandfathered in and exempt from the legislation.

Adrian Whetstone, an organizer with Auglaize County Townships United, was glad to see the denial.

"Speaking on behalf of Auglaize Townships United, we are more than thrilled to see the Birch Solar project was denied by the Ohio Power Siting board," Whetstone said. "The power of numbers and the community coming together collectively as a group can make a difference."

"I do know that the local government agencies, between township trustees and county commissioners, were listening to constituents and their concerns," Whetstone said.

Against Birch Solar (ABS) had filed concerns about visual and aesthetic complaints, setbacks, noise levels, impacts to drainage and groundwater, impacts on wildlife and migration, dust and road impacts during construction, oil and gas well requirements and providing for potential emergencies at the site. After negotiations with Birch Solar on mitigating those issues the group remained silent in the process.

ABS organizer Jim Thompson spoke limitedly.

"Our opinion on this project has not changed throughout the whole process, we may have had to withdraw our intervention status with the power siting board six months ago, but our opinion of the project remained the same."

Michael Wildermuth, an organizer with AACRE, voiced his disagreement with the decision to deny the site certification.

He said area school districts could have received millions in dollars in revenue, which would have been provided through a Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreement county commissioners could have approved if the project had moved forward.

Mike Ruppert, business manager and journeyman wireman at International Brotherhood of Electricians Local 32 in Lima, said the decision would cost hundreds of construction jobs.

"These are local jobs for local workers that were denied today in this wrong-headed decision; jobs that provide a living wage, and family-sustaining benefits," he said in a news release.

"It's hard for us to understand how the Siting Board can view these benefits as not being in the public interest. These construction jobs are important to me and my members and the community whose business they support," he continued. "We feel strongly that the Ohio Power Siting Board got it wrong today, and we are considering all available next steps to correct this flawed outcome."