The Frasier Solar Project's fate will be shaped in part by the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) during its April 4 and 29 hearings, leaving many to wonder how the county's elections and resolutions— which indicate opposition to solar development— might weigh on the OPSB's decision.
Matt Butler, the Public Information Officer for OPSB, emphasized the importance of local input in the board's considerations regarding the 1,500 plus acre Frasier Solar Project.
“The views and concerns of local elected officials and community members are very important to the Ohio Power Siting Board,” Butler told Mount Vernon News.
“The OPSB will take all local government and public input into consideration before making a decision regarding the Frasier Solar Project. This includes comments and resolutions submitted in the case record, as well as testimony received at the upcoming local hearing in Mount Vernon. We encourage area residents to attend and participate in the hearing."
State Sen. Kent Smith (D-Euclid), a non-voting member of the OPSB, noted the previous decision by the Knox County Commission to allow industrial solar will be a heavy consideration for the board.
Smith said the Knox County commissioners' resolutions in August 2022 and 2023, which allowed large-scale solar projects on a case-by-case basis and accepted a pilot proposal for the Frasier Solar Project, respectively.
“I think the Ohio Power Siting Board has kind of acted within the wishes of the Knox County Commission,” Smith told Mount Vernon News. “To this point and I know there's a public hearing in a couple of days. But things have been moving along with the blessing of the elected leadership.”
Since those decisions were made, two of the three Knox County Commission seats are set to be filled by anti-solar candidates, Drenda Keesee and Barry Lester, who recently won the GOP primary.
However, Smith said the intent to allow the Frasier Solar Project, dating back to 2022, will be taken into consideration as well.
“There's new people that have gotten elected,” he said. “You know that you can't undo history, especially when, in August 2022 the county commissioners agreed to letting (it) move forward on a case by case basis. And then in August 2023, they accepted the PILOT project.”
The OPSB’s public hearing is set to take place at the Knox Memorial Theater located at 112 E. High St. in Mount Vernon.
The outcome of the hearing, which comes as 17 of Knox County’s 22 townships have passed industrial solar exclusionary zones, along with Mount Vernon's legislation that opposes the development, is partially planned for acreage located in city limits.
The OPSB will gather sworn testimony in the presence of board members, complete with a judge and a court reporter tasked with recording all testimonies.
Knox Smart Development’s Jared Yost has emphasized the critical role of residents' voices in influencing the outcome of the contentious Frasier Solar Project proposal.
“It is the most important part of this entire process for all of the public, because they do take into account when people send emails and write in and send in public comments, but they take people speaking with more weight. That's what they have told us themselves,” he said.
The debate in Knox County over Open Road Renewables' industrial solar project plans escalated after a Nov. 30 event hosted by Knox Smart Development at the Knox Memorial Theater.
