Stark County Commissioner Richard Regula will visit a 180-megawatt solar facility in Madison County this week.
The field trip comes at a time when county leaders and residents are debating whether to allow or prohibit large-scale solar and wind farms in townships.
The county commissioners are expected to vote on restricting wind and solar development in 14 townships at their meeting Wednesday.
Regula said the purpose of the trip, which is scheduled Thursday, is educational.
"I just wanted to go out and see one," he said. "I'm going to try to get a hold of one of the county commissioners and just get everybody's input of what they think of them, what they look like. I'm curious to see what they sound like."
Regula will be attending a private power up event that day, which will mark the start of operations for the project, said Sarah Moser, head of farm operations and agrivoltaics for Savion.
Savion, the energy company behind the project, is owned by Shell New Energies US.
The Madison Fields Solar Project sits on about 1,200 acres. Construction began in late 2022. It is in Pike Township in Madison County.
Regula said he hopes the experience of visiting a large solar facility will help inform his opinion when future projects are proposed in Stark County.
"I want to go down and talk to the commissioners and talk to the community, and just visually see one of the sites so I can know what to expect if any more of them come up, because I'm sure they will," he said.
When it comes to the siting of large projects, like the 150-megawatt Stark Solar Project in Washington Township, Regula said he can see perspectives for and against them. In May, county commissioners passed a resolution opposing the project.
"I can see both sides of it," he said. "The impact on the neighborhood is a concern, I get property owners' rights, and I get the investment that is coming into the community, our potential taxes that would come into the local school district. I'm just trying to educate myself as best I can."
Erik Hann, business manager of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 540, which is supportive of those projects, said he hopes viewing the site in Madison County will help Regula understand solar.
"We all paint the picture in our mind of what these solar fields are going to look like, and a lot of times it's not always what we think it's going to be," he said. "To see it in person to find out, this isn't an eyesore. They're not noisy. This isn't bad."
The commissioners are considering creating a restricted area that would prohibit large wind and solar projects in 14 of Stark County's 17 townships. The county held a public hearing last month to gather feedback and commissioners are expected to vote on the issue today.
The proposed restricted area would prohibit large solar facilities and large wind farms of 50 megawatts or more, as well as economically significant wind farms between five and 50 megawatts in Canton, Jackson, Lake, Lawrence, Lexington, Nimishillen, Osnaburg, Paris, Pike, Plain, Sugar Creek, Tuscarawas and Washington townships.
In Marlboro Township, the restricted area would prohibit large solar facilities and large wind farms but allow economically significant wind farms.
Reach Grace at 330-580-8364 or gspringer@gannett.com. Follow her on X @GraceSpringer16.
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