A major solar power farm proposed in Clermont County cleared the hurdle of a public comment period Thursday despite fierce opposition from farmers living in the area.
The proposal by Kansas City-based Savion would encompass 1,226 acres around Route 276 at Sharps Cutoff Road in Williamsburg. It would include solar panels to generate 100 megawatts of power with a 52.2-megawatt battery and other infrastructure.
The Williamsburg High School theater was packed with people speaking for or against the project Thursday evening, with the vast majority of people living in what could one day be its shadow deeply opposed.
Becki Johnson's passionate speech about concerns similar projects would eliminate available farmland and make it more expensive for farmers across the region was greeted with cheers and applause.
"I'm concerned about the future of Ohio agriculture, and I'm concerned about the future generations and if there's going to be ground to farm," she said.
Her side was much more heavily favored in the largely conservative region of Southwest Ohio.
Signs reading "NO SOLAR PANELS ON PRIME FARM LAND" lined the road where the proposal would be built about 100 yards from a "Clermont County is Trump Country" sign.
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Johnson pleaded with the Power Sitting Board not to approve the project while buildings and parking lots remained uncovered.
"The fact is, those panels don't have to be on farmland," she said.
Those speaking in support of the project, however, said the land could serve multiple purposes.
Solar Farm Summit founder Dan French said what he calls agrivoltaics, using the land under raised solar panels for agriculture, could eventually save struggling farms.
"Agrivoltaics can kind of be double rent if you want to think about it that way," French said. "Double the harvest. You're producing food or maybe live stock underneath, and the electrons are creating a source of revenue as well."
That's why Brady Kirwan, a farmer who said he lives about a half hour north of Williamsburg, came to speak at the meeting.
"My wife and I are taking a pretty big bet on co-location of solar and agriculture," Kirwan said. "We're going to be running a small flock of sheep, roughly 300 sheep, on a solar farm."
Thursday's hearing was far from a final approval of the project.
The Public Utilities Commission has an evidentiary hearing scheduled Sept. 10 at 10 a.m. at their Columbus offices. The hearing is set at 180 East Broad St. in Hearing Room 11-C on the 11th floor.
If approved, Savion plans to begin construction in Spring 2025 with completion and operation beginning in the Fall of 2026.
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