The Ohio Power Siting Board yesterday approved a plan to build a 250-megawatt solar energy facility on about 2,400 acres of land in western Franklin County.
In terms of energy output, that makes it about five times the size of the Columbus Solar Park, a 50-megawatt facility planned for a former landfill near the intersection of I-71 and I-270.
The newly-approved project, known as Pleasant Prairie Solar, will provide enough energy to power 45,000 homes annually, according to the company behind the project, Chicago-based Invenergy.
The solar panels will cover about 1,700 acres of land within the footprint of the development, which is located just east of Battelle Darby Creek Metro Park and extends from West Broad Street south to Kropp Road.
Discussions about the proposed facility have been ongoing since at least 2020, when the first documents for the project were filed with the Public Utilities Commission. Some area residents have opposed the project, citing concerns about the appearance of the panels and its impact on property values.
Metro Parks also expressed concerns about the proposal, filing a petition with the siting board last year that outlined several objections; some focussed on the fact that the panels would be visible from the park, and others on the possibility that there could be negative impacts on wildlife or native vegetation.
The company agreed to set the panels back from the property line and to plant a mix of native trees and plants to serve as a screen.
The settlement approved by the siting board includes commitments made to Metro Parks and to other entities like the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, and the Boards of Trustees of Prairie and Pleasant Townships.
Two other significant regional projects were also approved by the siting board this week, both in Licking County:
- A 200-megawatt battery energy storage project called Flint Grid, located on 15 acres in Jersey Township, near New Albany.
- A 350-megawatt solar facility from Harvey Solar, located on 2,630 acres in Hartford and Bennington townships.
For more information on the Ohio Power Siting Board and these projects, see opsb.ohio.gov.
Update (10/31): this article was corrected to reflect the fact that work has not yet started on the Columbus Solar Park project near I-71 and I-270. A spokesperson for the project’s developer, BQ Energy, said that construction is scheduled to start in 2023 and the facility would be operational by early 2024.
