Over and over again, the concern has been expressed that solar projects are taking up land that should be used for agricultural purposes.
Knox Pages reported on March 9 that in response to that concern, the solar developer has reached an agreement with local sheep grazers New Slate Land Management for a full 800 of the 840 acre project to be made available for one of the largest sheep grazing operations in the state.
From the Open Road Renewables website: “Virtually all of the acreage used for solar power production … will also remain in full agricultural production…. in between, beneath, and around the rows of solar panels.”
The sub-title of the Knox Pages article: “The dual solar-agricultural land use will preserve agricultural heritage and create agricultural jobs.”
Although Knox County in the past was one of the leading areas for sheep grazing in the country, it has moved in other directions.
This writer – who is also involved in video production – created a short 5 minute program to show the reader what “solar grazing” would look like at the Frasier site.
Anyone who views this video objectively would seem to come away with a sense of “wow, there is now finally a way to get past all the conflict in this community and implement a WIN-WIN solution where there can be both solar panels and continued agricultural use on the same land.”
But in spite of this agreement being made public and explicitly reported by local media, the opposition group Knox Smart Development [KSD] has not only continued to make the same claim about “loss of agriculture.” It seemed to double down on it even more strongly as the Siting Board hearing approached on April 4.
Why is this happening?
A deeper dive into the background of KSD is revealing. A link on an early version of its website leads directly to “The Empowerment Alliance” (TEA). TEA is a dark money group actively supporting the gas industry.
“Dark money” refers to the exploitation of loopholes so that donations cannot be traced. People connected to this group have spoken out against renewable energy in Ohio.
Though its Nov. 30 event at the Knox Theater was billed as a “town hall meeting” – which implies a democratic process – when someone attempted to participate with a pro-solar perspective, he was denied entry.
This escalated to an even more anti-democratic stance at the April 4 hearing. The KSD attorney filed a formal motion calling for anyone outside Knox County to be banned from testifying.
The hypocrisy is breathtaking. For that same Nov.30 event, KSD brought in Steve Goreham all the way from the out of state Chicago-based Heartland Institute.
Even worse, this was not done to serve any public interest but rather to undermine it.
Heartland is infamous for its efforts on behalf of the tobacco industry to “blur the facts” about the harmful impact of smoking, and has been doing the same on the climate crisis for 16 years — flying in the face of a science consensus agreed to by no less than 195 countries.
I am a Franciscan, and it is my belief that God’s earthly Creation is a sacred gift and Christians have a moral responsibility to protect it from harm.
If climate disruption continues unabated, 50 million people will be pushed to the brink of starvation by 2060. Half will be children.
Pope Francis – the spiritual leader of 2 billion Catholic Christians – says it is a moral sin to wreak havoc on God’s Creation by destroying the climate balance on earth.
Christians are called to compassion. Jesus said: “As you do unto the least of these my brethren, you do unto me.” [Matthew 25:40] As a Christian, I have a moral obligation to speak out.
Though the crisis transcends county, state, and even national boundaries, KSD filed a motion to silence my voice.
Now, rather than welcome the agreement from the developer to actually implement what KSD was calling for, it continues to crank out the “loss of agriculture” claim.
When such a glaring inconsistency is combined with an overt effort to limit dissent, a serious question must be asked.
Was the “loss of agriculture” issue seized as a useful “prop” which sounded legitimate, in order to camouflage a true agenda seeking to destroy the solar option as a threat to the profit margins of the gas industry?
The siting board is directed by state law to serve the “public interest.”
It must discriminate between vested interests and those who speak for children who will suffer the dessicating droughts and food shortages if grown-ups fail to act before a climate tipping point [PBS documentary] is crossed.
Blatant acts of censorship and the manipulation of public opinion with misinformation is unethical.
In the name of fairness and respect of the democratic process, KSD should disassociate from the shadowy world of “dark money,” operate in the light of day, and desist from these anti-democratic practices.
Gary Houser
Glouster, Ohio
EDITOR’S NOTE: Gary Houser is a Franciscan brother who sees a moral obligation to protect God’s Creation, and therefore dedicates time to assist the transition to clean renewable energy from the fossil fuels disrupting earth’s climate balance.
He volunteers with a network based in central Ohio called Agrivoltaics Solutions that seeks a WIN-WIN by integrating continued agricultural use with solar panels.