25): Rural Ohioans oppose solar farms, right? Not so, developer finds

Canary Media: Rural Ohioans oppose solar farms, right? Not so, developer finds
Kathiann M. Kowalski, 2/19/25

“A new analysis shows that a clear majority of people submitting comments on a planned central Ohio solar farm support the project — a stark contrast with how opponents have portrayed public sentiment,” Canary Media reports. “Open Road Renewables, the developer seeking a permit to build the Grange Solar Grazing Center in Logan County, reviewed more than 2,500 comments submitted to the Ohio Power Siting Board through Feb. 11 regarding its permitting case. After accounting for repeat commenters who submitted multiple times, the company found 80% of commenters expressed support for its project.

A project’s popularity is a potential factor in site permit decisions, but how regulators use that information is the subject of a pending case before the Ohio Supreme Court. Until the question of how state regulators should measure “public interest” is resolved, solar advocates and developers say it’s critical to closely examine public comments before drawing conclusions. “Anyone can file 10 different comments, but if you’re using that to determine public opinion, just based on nominally how many comments there are, that’s kind of missing the mark,” Doug Herling, vice president for Open Road Renewables, told Canary Media.

Herling took issue with people “gaming” the system, submitting multiple comments to make it appear that the project has more naysayers. The company’s analysis identified more than 600 repeat comments that should not be considered in attempts to quantify support or opposition to the project. As of early February, it found 16 individuals who collectively submitted more than 140 comments, mostly opposing Grange Solar. Solar opponents, some with ties to fossil fuel groups, have used town halls and other forums to portray utility-scale solar projects as deeply unpopular in rural Ohio. Sustained opposition has led developers to drop plans for at least four large solar developments in Ohio within the past 15 months. Nationally, research released last June by Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law documents hundreds of renewable energy projects facing significant opposition across 47 states…”