Editor’s Note: This article was updated at 9 p.m. on Jan. 17, 2024, to remove an incorrect date for a public hearing relating to the Harvey Solar project. The hearing has already been held.
MILLER TOWNSHIP — The Miller Township trustees voted to ask the county to declare the township an exclusionary zone for future utility-scale solar projects. The vote was unanimous.
Ohio Senate Bill 52 grants county commissioners the authority to designate areas where wind and solar projects are prohibited.
That authority applies to solar projects producing 50 megawatts and above. For wind, the threshold is 5 MW.
It also only applies to projects with a single interconnection to the electric grid.
“It was a hard decision for all of us,” Trustee Roger McConnell said of Monday’s vote. “There was a lot of back and forth on it. We thought it was best for the township and the roads.”
McConnell said that the more the trustees researched solar, the more they leaned toward being an exclusionary zone.
He cited changing the landscape on adjoining farms and potential flooding among their concerns.
“The lack of care for adjoining property owners by construction people, that weighed in my decision quite a bit,” McConnell said.
The trustees understand that being designated an exclusionary zone does not apply to Open Road Renewables’ Frasier Solar project.
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However, dealing with ORR played a role for McConnell.
“They absolutely refused to give more money to fire and squad, and I know we’re going to pay a price on the roads,” he said.
McConnell noted that going to 24/7 staffing at the Homer Fire Department increases costs. He said more financial support for safety services would “take the burden off the residents in the township.”
“If you are benefiting everybody in the township, maybe that might change my mind,” he said.
What about other townships?
The Knox County commissioners passed a resolution in August 2022 banning large-scale wind projects in the county’s unincorporated areas. The resolution leaves the commissioners looking at utility-scale solar on a case-by-case basis.
“This is in the future; this is not about what’s on the table right now,” County Prosecutor Chip McConville said of Miller Township’s request to be an exclusionary zone.
“Until the commissioners adopt something new, the previous resolution is still in effect.”
Before the commissioners passed the resolution, Commissioner Bill Pursel attended several township meetings, asking for townships to submit their opinion on solar in writing.
“At the time, only Liberty Township and Morgan Township said they were opposed to solar in their township,” he said. “Because we were getting all kinds of responses, both positive and negative, we referred it back to the township.”
“The commissioners have, and will continue to, take input from the townships on solar. We believe these decisions are best made at the local township level,” Commissioner Thom Collier said.
“We have asked Chip McConville to reach out to all of the townships. Any township that wants their township to be in an exclusionary zone should forward their resolution to the commissioners no later than February. We will hold a public meeting and allow any township to be an exclusionary zone if that is the preference of their constituents.”
Collier said private ownership of land and personal rights has been a staple of America since the Declaration of Independence.
“We respect property owners right to use or lease their own land for the purposes they see fit, within the confines of local zoning, without government intervention,” he said.
Where does Frasier Solar fit in?
The authority to declare exclusionary zones does not apply to projects that had reached a certain point in the process when the legislature passed SB52.
The Frasier Solar project had reached that point, so the commissioners cannot declare Miller Township off-limits to that project.
“What everybody needs to understand about Frasier Solar is that it’s grandfathered in,” McConville said. “The decision on Frasier Solar will be made entirely by the Ohio Power Siting Board.”
SB52 provides for county and township representation on the OPSB’s ad hoc committee for the project.
Commissioner Pursel represents Knox County. Realtor Bob Phillips represents Miller and Clinton townships.
The OPSB scheduled a public hearing on Frasier Solar for April 4 at 5 p.m. at The Woodward Opera House.
