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A solar developer wants to take over acres of Knox County farmland...

Open Road Renewables is a company that wants to place industrial solar panels on over 800-900 acres of Knox County farmland for 40 years. The Frasier Solar development is estimated to consist of up to 270,000 solar panels and rotating motors on eight separate areas of farmland south of Mount Vernon.

Open Road Renewables initiated a solar development in Brown County, Ohio called Hillcrest Solar, which caused flooding on surrounding farms for the past two years and the developer was late in making its payments to the County. The developer was also accused by labor organizations of submitting fraudulent driver's licenses to avoid in-state hiring requirements.

Brown County, and over a dozen other counties, have since banned further industrial solar. Despite the Brown County flooding, Open Road states in its Frasier Solar application that it “does not plan to install any water monitoring or gauging stations” for stormwater drainage. Knox County should learn from others’ mistakes and not fall for the industrial solar scam!

Reasons why industrial solar on farmland is a bad idea:

• Changes water runoff and damages drainage tiles, causing flooding and crop damage.
• Lowers neighboring property values.
• Solar panels can leach harmful metals and chemicals into groundwater.
• To provide reliable electricity, solar power must be stored in huge batteries, with 90% of the battery market controlled by China.
• China’s share in all the manufacturing stages of solar panels (such as polysilicon, ingots, wafers, cells and modules) exceeds 80%.
  
• Causes road destruction and increased crime during construction.
• Reduces agriculture jobs, which is Ohio’s leading job industry.
• Reduces farmland and increases food costs.
• Destroys beauty of rural areas for decades.

There is a smarter way to develop solar. Instead of using prime farmland just because it’s cheap and easy, solar companies should develop on warehouse rooftops, parking lots and abandoned industrial sites. Industrial solar already occupies thousands of acres of prime Ohio farmland. Enough is enough!