The company behind what would be one of the biggest solar farms in the country is making its case this week for why the project should be approved by Ohio regulators, and gained support from one key local official.

Renewable energy company Savion is arguing before two administrative law judges of the Ohio Power Siting Board, the state agency that must sign off on new sources of electricity, on the need for the Oak Run Solar Project that would be built primarily on thousands of acres of land owned by Bill Gates in Madison County.

More: Plain City a boomtown? Village sees housing explosion and a distillery, but growing pains

The judges are expected to hear testimony through Thursday. It’s the last big step before the Siting Board rules, likely this summer or fall. Savion has said, if approved, construction could start before the end of the year.The Siting Board staff has recommended that the project be approved. The Siting Board is not bound by that recommendation.

“Oak Run Solar project has conducted rigorous due diligence with both community leaders and local environmental stewards in Madison County,” Sean Flannery, senior director of permitting and environmental for Savion, said in testimony filed with the board. “Over the past two years, we have continuously consulted with hundreds of county officials, local stakeholders and the broader community to ensure Oak run will be a project that benefits everyone.”

The project has won wide support and has stiff opposition as well, including the three townships in Madison County where the project would be built, Monroe, Somerford and Deercreek townships.

Attorney Jack Van Kley, the lawyer representing the townships at the hearing, said his questions this week of witnesses from Savion and others supporting the project are meant to expose the problems the project could cause, everything from soil erosion to loss of prime farmland to potential fires from the battery storage part of the project to road damage from heavy trucks to ruining the view of the countryside.

“There’s a whole host of things that could go on,” he said during a break in Monday’s testimony.

What’s at stake with Oak Run?

Kansas City, Missouri-based Savion is seeking approval from state regulators to build an 800-megawatt solar farm and a 300-megawatt energy storage system along State Route 29. The project would be built north of London near Plumwood and cost at least $1 billion.

Oak Run is big enough to power 170,000 households and the solar farm would take up about 5,700 acres, most of it owned by Bill Gates’ Midwest Farms.

Savion says the project would provide $7.2 million in revenue for local governments, or $252 million over the expected 35-year life of the project.

Savion also wants to conduct a major test of whether thousands of acres between and around the solar panels can be farmed at the site. It’s doing a smaller test at another solar farm nearby it is building, Madison Fields Solar Project in Pike Township.

If successful, the work at Oak Run could address a prime criticism that solar farms take farmland out of production.Shell New Energies US, a subsidiary of European oil giant Royal Dutch Shell, bought Savion in December 2021 as part of the company's move away from fossil fuels.

Commissioner testifies in favor of the project

Beyond testimony that will be provided during the four days of the hearing, the project has received hundreds of letters of support and opposition.

Parties to the case have filed pages and pages of testimony that the administrative judges will consider in addition to those who will testify.

After expressing initial support in the project, Madison County officials had a change of heart, previously stating that the four projects that have been approved for the county are enough for now.

But Commissioner Mark Forrest, the first witness in the hearing, testified in favor of the project, saying it would provide badly needed money for the county that could be used, for example, to improve roads and bridges.He also praised the idea of incorporating farming into the project, saying that “This would give younger generations access to a new adventure in agriculture.”

Under questioning from township attorney Van Cley, Forrest did acknowledge complaints from residents about solar farms under construction that include damage to roads, drainage issue and noise.

He did say the complaints were similar to what he hears during harvest and from other construction projects, and that he was confident the roads will be better when the solar farms are finished.

mawilliams@dispatch.com@BizMarkWilliams

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio begins hearings on massive Gates solar farm in Madison County