Pleasant Township residents voice opposition to proposed solar project

Pleasant Township residents appear to remain firm in their opposition to the development of a proposed solar energy generation facility in the wake of a public meeting on the issue.

Representatives of Chestnut Solar LLC, which is owned by the National Renewable Energy Corporation (NARENCO) based in Charlotte, North Carolina, met with Pleasant Township residents Tuesday at Tri-Rivers Career Center to provide information about the project and answer questions. After company representatives spoke briefly about the project, local residents were directed to submit questions and comments in writing. No public question and answer session was conducted, but residents did engage in conversation with company representatives.

Jesse Montgomery, president of development for NARENCO, said the company prefers to locate its sites on "agricultural land" near "electrical infrastructure," criteria which the Pleasant Township location meets. According to a map of the proposed site, the facility would be bordered on the north by Somerlot Hoffman Road and on the south by Newmans Cardington Road. The western boundary would mostly be along a line from north to south along Maple Grove Road. The eastern boundary would be U.S. 23.

According to the Ohio Power Siting Board website, Chestnut Solar is in the pre-application phase. The company's proposed electric generation would be placed on a 404-acre site in eastern Pleasant Township and have a capacity of up to 68 megawatts. In 2017, NARENCO began concept work for the proposed Chestnut Solar LLC solar farm in Pleasant Township.

"We have a great plan," Montgomery said. "Ohio has a very comprehensive application process. We've complied with all the rules and regulations. We're excited about opportunities like this to engage with the community and hear what issues they see and really take them into consideration before we submit our application, so we can address any concerns that people have. Obviously the neighbors are concerned about direct impacts to them. Those usually revolve around potential runoff issues and what they're going to see, so we're taking all of those comments to heart."

Catherine Eblin, who lives on Maple Grove Road in Pleasant Township, said the proposed facility would be located directly behind her family's home. She said she's lived in Pleasant Township her entire life and noted several reasons why she's opposed to the construction of the facility there.

"I'm not against solar per se, I just don't think we should be using farmland that we need for feeding people and livestock for this type of a thing, especially since it's supposedly going to take 35 years for (the lease) to end," Eblin said. "It would take a long, long time for that field to ever come back to be farmable again. We have a lot of flooding every spring and fall and I feel like it's going to add to that."

Emily Barney, who lives on Somerlot Hoffman Road East, said she's extremely concerned about the proposed facility since the entrance to it will be located "right across the street" from her home, where she and her family have lived for the past four years.

"As far as the eye can see from our front porch would be all solar panels," Barney said. "We're concerned about water backing up. We already have a water issue in that area. The whole reason we bought our home was because we wanted it to be our lifelong home and it's a beautiful view, and those views would be gone. Even if we choose to sell the home now, we'd have to disclose this and that would mean that our equity and our property value would be diminished and gone."

Barney said she did not become aware that Chestnut Solar was planning to build the facility adjacent to her property until "about a year ago." She said there was no mention of it when she and her family were considering buying their home four years ago.

The Marion County Board of Commissioners voted 3-0 on June 7 during a public hearing to pass the Pleasant Township resolution which imposes restrictions on the development of solar and wind facilities. According to the resolution, which Pleasant Township Trustees approved on Dec. 29, 2021, "no solar or wind farms considered 'major utility facility' are to be constructed in Pleasant Township."

Noel Jerome, who lives on Newmans Cardington Road East, said he doesn't understand why the project can move forward despite the township trustees and county commissioners passing the resolutions to limit the type of development that Chestnut Solar is proposing.

"We went to our township trustees and our county commissioners we got them to agree to no solar panels, large or small," Jerome said. "But yet now we have the (Ohio Power Siting Board) holding our future in their hands and if they say the solar panels can go in, then our votes didn't count for anything. There hasn't been any cry for eminent domain from the state to put solar panels in or anything like that. As a homeowner, I just don't understand why we have to go beyond what we've already gone through with our local elected officials."

Eblin, Barney, and Jerome each said that they encourage their fellow Pleasant Township residents who are concerned about the proposed solar facility being built there to contact the Ohio Power Siting Board and submit comments.

Matt Butler, public information officer for the Ohio Power Siting Board, said the public meeting held Tuesday evening is the first step in the pre-application process for the proposed Chestnut Solar project.

"This is the company's chance to get feedback directly from the members of the community. It is also their chance to answer questions from the community," Butler said. "We're here as the Power Siting Board staff to answer questions people have about the process and how that'll work going forward."

Butler said Chestnut Solar LLC now has 90 days from the meeting date to file its application with the Ohio Power Siting Board. The application must include a summary of feedback received from residents who attended Tuesday's meeting and about 1,000 pages of maps, studies, surveys, and a narrative about the project. Butler said if the company fails to submit the documentation required for the application within the 90-day period, another public meeting like the one held Tuesday would have to be conducted.

Butler said the entire process - from pre-application to final approval from the Ohio Power Siting Board - takes about a year to complete.

According to the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) database, only one solar project has been approved to operate in Marion County. The Marion County Solar Project LLC is a proposed 100 megawatt solar energy facility that will be located on approximately 500 to 600 acres of land in northern Marion Township. The OPSB granted approval for the project in November 2021.

Email: ecarter@gannett.com | Twitter: @AndrewACCarter

This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Pleasant Twp. residents continue to oppose proposed solar project