The solar installation could power up to 33,000 homes if the full, 1,600-acre project is built. The solar facility, which is targeted to begin construction in 2028, could create hundreds of new jobs and generate more power in Clark County.
The board received and considered information regarding the project, including public comments from residents and local officials, and evaluated potential impacts on agriculture land and farmland preservation, rural character and township development patterns, local roads and infrastructure, environmental resources, and the general health, safety and welfare of county residents, according to the resolution.
“After reviewing available information and considering the concerns of affected residents and communities, the board has determined that the construction and operation of the Sloopy Solar Project as currently proposed is not in the best interests of Clark County or its residents and does not satisfy the requirement that the facility serve the public interest, convenience and necessity under Section 4906.10 of the Ohio Revised Code,” the resolution stated.
“The board desires to formally state its opposition to the Sloopy Solar Project on the public record and to request that the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) deny any application for a certificate for the project.”
Ryan Van Portfliet, director of development at Invenergy, said they are aware that the resolution passed.
“Sloopy Solar’s application, submitted to the OPSB in line with our publicly communicated timeline, outlines how the project will deliver much needed energy to meet growing demands across the region, create new job opportunities and deliver state and local economic benefits,” he said.
“The project has incorporated multiple considerations from the local community into our proposed plans and garnered the support of adjacent and nearby residents, local economic development and organization leaders, and small businesses.”
Invenergy officials held two public hearings in July 2025 to get public input on the proposed project. Once both meetings were held, Invenergy had 90 days to submit its application for the proposed Sloopy Solar Energy Center to the OPSB, and then nine months to do the formal review process that includes additional opportunities for community input, according to an Invenergy spokesperson.
The application makes additional commitments in response to community feedback, according to Invenergy. These include establishing a local project office; including an additional 100 feet beyond the minimum setback mandated by the OPSB from non-participating parcel boundaries, bringing the total project setback to 150 feet; adding a 500-feet setback from inverters to non-participating residences, and a commitment to not install solar panels on leased land immediately surrounding Plattsburg Cemetery.
Van Portfliet said they’ll continue their focus on local engagement and be a responsive community partner throughout the OPSB’s review process.
This center would be a first for the region since no utility-scale solar or wind facilities exist in Clark County.
Commissioners will not have any control over this project and it will not be voted on or brought before the board, though they will have the ability to appoint an individual to represent the commissioners on the OPSB while that agency has oversight of the project.
The project is partially grandfathered in, according to the OPSB, because they received a system impact study and paid fees before October 2021. It was already in motion before passage of Senate Bill 52 in the fall of 2021, which allows a board of county commissioners to prohibit the construction of utility-scale wind or solar facilities altogether or in certain designated zones in unincorporated areas.
Clark County Commission President Sasha Rittenhouse said she went through “every single” OPSB public comment - 410 voted in opposition to Sloopy Solar and 135 voted in favor.
“I thought that was a pretty significant statement on how our community feels about this project,” she said.
Commissioner Charles Patterson made it clear he is not against solar energy or power, but that it’s a zoning issue.
In zoning, he said, they typically wouldn’t zone an industrial area next to agriculture and single-family residences, and they normally work up to that with light businesses and commercial spaces and then get to industrial.
“I want to be very clear that I’m not against solar energy. I think if we can get free energy from the sun, that’s great. I’m just not sure that we want to put it on prime farmland and we certainly don’t want to zone that into that area ... That’s the reason why we’d be supporting this (opposition),” he said.
“If you come into my residential area where I live and you want to put an (industrial) next to it, I would oppose that. But if you want to take the lot that joins my lot, which is zoned residential, and you want to build a house there, build a house there because unless I buy it, I don’t have control of that property as long as it’s property itself.”
In September 2025, commissioners approved a resolution to restrict all large wind farms and solar farms from being built in the unincorporated areas of all of Clark County’s 10 townships for at least two years through Dec. 31, 2027.
A few people talked during the meeting, commending commissioners on their stance on the project, including Daren Cotter, Moorefield Twp. trustee, Bill Agle, Harmony Twp. representative, and Dean Blair, executive director of the Clark County Fairgrounds and Agricultural Society.
Agle talked about how he and a group of others started the Harmony Township Farmland Preservation Coalition Group in March 2025 and have been working to stop the project.
“I want to thank my group because it kind of shows what citizens can do if they put their mind to something in the community. We’re not out of the woods yet, but your resolution that you’re proposing to send to the siting board will greatly help,” he said.
Blair said they support preservation of farmland and advancement of agriculture and are “absolutely thrilled” commissioners took a stand against Sloopy.
“We believe from the meeting that we had out there at the fairgrounds, where we had over 450 people there, that we actually have thousands of people in this county that are against Sloopy and just a handful of people that support it,” he said.
Joshua Trapp, founding member of the HFPC, said they’ve been fighting this project for almost a year and have had “tremendous success” so far as the primary organization leading this effort in the county.
“The two-year moratorium adopted on Sept. 3, 2025, along with the formal resolution opposing the Sloopy Solar Energy Center approved by the commission on Jan. 14, represents a critical step forward. Together, these actions are an important piece of the overall effort to stop the project and demonstrate growing momentum behind local opposition,” Trapp said.
HFPC is a nonpartisan, community-led organization focused on protecting Clark County’s farmland, rural character, natural resources and way of life from large-scale industrial solar development. Residents have contributed time, expertise, financial support and resources to this group about the project and its impacts.
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