Licking County Commissioners open to banning solar farms in Etna Township if requested
As Etna Township explores whether to prohibit large solar farms within its boundaries, the Licking County Commissioners say they are open to the request.
Etna Township Trustees held an open forum June 6 about designating the entire township as an exclusionary zone for utility-scale solar and wind energy facilities. The trustees heard from State Representative Kevin Miller, Licking County Soil and Water Conservation District Program Administrator Kristy Hawthorne, Etna residents, and a member of Save Hartford Township, a grassroots organization fighting against a 350-megawatt solar project in northwest Licking County.
Etna doesn't have the authority to prohibit them on their own. But through Senate Bill 52, which was enacted in 2021, counties have the authority to bar or limit development of wind farms larger than 5 megawatts and solar farms larger than 50 megawatts. Etna Township would need to pass a resolution asking the commissioners to prohibit the large energy farms on their behalf.
Etna Township Trustee Mark Evans is pushing for the exclusionary zone as a way of keeping the area's rural aesthetic. Commercial solar farms often need hundreds — if not thousands — of acres, Evans said.
"We're in a high growth area, especially with Intel coming in," Evans said. "We've got to really keep that in mind and solar might be appropriate in one area and not another."
The construction of solar farms is ramping up in Ohio. Though just a handful of utility-size projects are in operations, there are about 50 solar farms in some stage of development in the state.
Two large scale passive solar projects in Licking County were approved by the Ohio Power Siting Board before Senate Bill 52 was passed: one in Harrison Township and another in Hartford Township that extends into Bennington Township. No other projects are being discussed in the county, according to a letter from the county commissioners to the township trustees.
During the meeting, Evans claimed the county commissioners "do not wish to implement any exclusionary zones."
But in a Thursday interview with Commissioner Tim Bubb, he said the commissioners are not opposed to having a discussion about it.
"Our general feeling is if someone else is coming into Licking County and they want to talk about a solar project, which requires a lot of considerations, we will then initiate a discussion with that township or the community, especially if it's an incorporated area, to see or not if they're welcoming that," he said.
But if any township wants to request an exclusionary zone proactively and "cross your township off the list, so to speak," Bubb said the commissioners would welcome the request and consider it.
Evans said in the meeting he wants the township to vote on the exclusionary zone request at the next meeting, June 20.
Trustee Rozland McKee said after the meeting she is not sure yet if she wants the township to pursue an exclusionary zone. Adding that she'd like to hear more from area farmers and residents before any vote.
The township has to balance the two different sides of the matter, McKee said. She said she understands the perspective from the farmers that they have a right to sell their land when they are ready to retire. However, once they sell to a solar company, warehouse, or any development, they're not tied to the area anymore.
"But the people that are still there have to deal with it," she said.
mdevito@gannett.com
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Twitter: @MariaDeVito13
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: County Commissioners open to banning solar farms in Etna if requested
