COLUMBUS – The Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) Thursday denied Crossroads Solar I, LLC’s proposal to construct a 94 megawatt solar-powered electric generation facility in Morrow County.
Crossroads Solar proposed to construct the facility within a 726-acre project area in Cardington, Lincoln, and Westfield townships.
The OPSB found that, based on opposition to the project from each local elected government entity within the project area and its impacted constituents, the proposed project would fail to serve the “public interest, convenience, and necessity” as required under Ohio law.
The board’s analysis used a broad lens to consider the many local interests and concerns regarding the project.
The board noted that any positive benefits from the project are outweighed by the consistent and substantial opposition to the project by the area residents, as expressed through the local governmental entities.
These include the lack of commitment to local sheep grazing, despite being a highly publicized component of the project, as well as a lack of trust from local governments due to the developer’s plans to sell the rights to another company before the facility is operational.
A copy of today’s opinion and order is available on the OPSB website at OPSB.ohio.gov by clicking on the link to Docketing Information System and searching case 25-0142-EL-BGN.