Ohio Supreme Court overturns solar farm permit
AP News • • business
Key Points:
- The Ohio Supreme Court overturned a permit for a 6,000-acre Oak Run Solar farm in Madison County, ruling that the project application lacked required visual impact renderings of substations from public viewpoints.
- The court's decision orders the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) to more thoroughly address the visual impacts, marking a significant setback for the project but not necessarily ending it.
- Oak Run Solar, developed by Savion (a Shell subsidiary), aims to generate enough electricity to power 170,000 homes and includes large battery storage and agrovoltaic features like beekeeping and sheep grazing.
- Ohio has seen increasing legal and regulatory challenges to utility-scale solar projects, fueled by a 2021 state law empowering local governments to block renewable energy developments despite no technical deficiencies in applications.
- Local opposition remains strong in rural Ohio, with numerous counties banning wind and solar projects, and officials frequently contesting permits on public interest grounds, creating a difficult environment for renewable energy expansion.