Miller Township trustees have voted unanimously in favor of a resolution asking the Knox County Commissioners to bar industrial solar development there.
The resolution came over the advice of Knox County Prosecuting Attorney Chip McConville, who has been telling Knox County township leaders they should not push anti-solar resolutions.
Clinton Township trustee Donna Hochstetler told the Mount Vernon News that McConville advised her and her fellow board members against taking such a step.
“He has told us not to do a resolution. Yes,” Hochstetler said.
McConville did not respond to interview requests left at his office from the Mount Vernon News.
McConville, as the county’s top legal officer, is tasked as “the legal adviser for all township officers, boards, and commissions,” according to the Ohio Revised Code.
Hochstetler said that she believes the Frasier Solar Project falls under the state’s purview, and local resolutions will have no effect on banning solar projects that were ratified prior to Senate Bill 52.
Senate Bill 52 became state law in 2021 and grants power to county commissioners to have ultimate say over the siting of large scale energy projects, such as solar and wind farms.
The Frasier Solar Project is exempt given it pre-dates the 2021 law.
The Frasier Solar Project entails constructing solar panel arrays, electrical infrastructure, access roads and more, occupying approximately 840 acres within a 1,395-acre project area in Miller Township, Clinton Township and parts of the City of Mount Vernon.
Hochstetler said the project is governed by the state’s Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) alone.
The OPSB member from Knox County is Bob Phillips, a realtor and broker at RE/MAX Stars. Phillips did not respond to requests for comment from the Mount Vernon News.
Hochstetler said the contentious issue gained traction when organized opposition to the project emerged.
As the debate unfolds, the OPSB has scheduled a local public hearing on April 4 to gather sworn testimony on the Frasier Solar proposal.
The hearing, set to take place at the Woodward Opera House, will play a crucial role in shaping the case record considered by the OPSB, adding another layer of complexity to the ongoing solar controversy in Knox County.
“Four meetings ago, we started getting people against it,” Hochstetler said.
The questions about what township officials can and cannot do in regards to such resolutions comes in the wake of a contentious local meeting held on the issue at Memorial Hall in Mount Vernon on Nov. 30 of last year.
Austin, Texas-based Open Road Renewables is responsible for the Frasier Solar Project.
The meeting hosted by Knox Smart Development brought the community together to discuss concerns over the installation of the Frasier Solar Project's construction of an estimated 270,000 solar panels.
The forum aimed to provide information and engage in open dialogue.
Speakers, including Jared Yost, a founder of Knox Smart Development, presented perspectives on solar projects, highlighting the debate over land use, environmental impact, and the balance between renewable energy goals and farmland concerns.
“I think there's a right way and there's a wrong way to develop solar,” Yost said in a presentation at the event.
“I think we should be focusing on things such as rooftops covered parking lots, land that is unfarmable or vacant or unusable for any other reason. Taking farmland out of production is taking food off of our tables. And although it may not seem like it's a big deal that this is only a few acres here for this project, that's just the start. And there are multiple projects that are in the planning stages for Knox County.”
The Miller Township vote was on Monday, Jan. 15.
Trustees are Jason Row, Robert McConnell and Lynn Gregory Rowe, all of Mount Vernon.
