Sloopy Solar: Officials get public feedback on 180-megawatt energy center planned in Clark County

The solar facility, which is targeted to begin in 2028, could create hundreds of new jobs and generate more power.

This would be a first for the region as, so far, no utility-scale solar or wind facilities exist in Clark County.

Economic impact of solar

Before this meeting, officials released the economic impact statement on the project, in which they hired an economic analysis out of the University of Illinois.

The economic impact showed:

Land use analysis

The land use analysis shows the 1,600 acres planned to be used by the project represents 0.94% of the acres used for farming in Clark County.

For corn or soybean farming to generate more income for the landowner and local community than the solar lease, the price for soybeans would need to rise to $66.43 per bushel by the year 2062 and yields for soybeans would need to rise to 190.7 bushels per acre by the year 2028; and the price for corn would need to rise to $22.02 per bushel by the year 2062 and yields for corn would need to rise to 514.5 bushels per acre by the year 2028.

Currently, the U.S. season-average farm price for soybeans for 2025/2026 is forecast at $10.25 per bushel, compared with $9.95 per bushel in marketing year 2024/2025, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A bushel of corn is worth between $3.65 and $4.10, depending on location and quality.

“Using a real-options analysis, land use value of solar leasing far exceeds the value for agricultural use,” the study said.

Resident Adam Frantz said during Wednesday’s Clark County Commission meeting that this study was to “outline pretty clearly what the county, different schools, the township stand to benefit.”

For example, he said, Harmony Twp. will receive $5.7 million, Northeastern Local Schools will receive $12 million, Southeastern Local Schools will receive $21.9 million.

“I want you to think forward for about 20 or 30 years ... I think that we’ll see a reversal of the sentiment towards this project,” he said.

The county might “look at that funding and hope to persuade this company to sign on and do this again because how will we replace millions worth of funding at the end of the project for Northeastern School District,” Frantz said.

Community feedback is mixed

The meeting included different stations about different parts of the project, where attendees could talk to people and learn more.

Couple Mary and Terry Adkins, who live a few miles from the proposed center, are against the solar facility because of farmland destruction, being able to feed people, the ecology and wildlife, as well as heat radiation.

“They keep taking all this farmland for houses, for developments, for all these other things. It has to stop somewhere,” Mary said.

“I have heard that the solar panels retain a lot of heat and radiate it back out into the environment ... The more we build, the more radiant energy is going to be going back up into the atmosphere. That concerns me and about how it will affect not only the wildlife, but everything else around us,” she said.

Terry agreed, questioning whether heat radiation and if that will affect the weather, animals, nature and more, as well as the number of jobs.

“That (acreage) is a lot of property that we’ll lose, and we’re already worldwide losing because of the population growth, and we need more corn and all that stuff ... but in the grand scheme of things, how many of these plots is this company looking at putting up and how much of that is going to affect the overall big picture,” he said.

Aaron Merritt, who lives across the street from one of the proposed panels, said he is not against solar facilities but would like more data about it.

“I think solar energy is a good idea and certainly has its place. But in a selfish way, personally, I have an issue with one solar panel array being right across the road,” he said. “It’s maybe not a bad thing, but it is a good point that you’re covering prime farmland with this.”

Invenergy will use public feedback to work with Clark County and nearby residents to develop a Sloopy Solar project that “works for the company and the community,” the company said.

The solar installation would be able to power an estimated 33,000 homes annually if fully built out, according to project developer Gaby Rubio.

The proposed project boundary includes 1,600 acres for solar panels, most of it on the far eastern edge of Clark County around the existing railroad line — to the south by Summerford Road and to the north near London-Plattsburg Road.

Clark County Commissioners will not have a say over this project and it will not be voted on or brought before the board, except the ability to appoint an individual to represent them on the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) during that agency’s 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.

Officials will have a second public information meeting, which has not been scheduled yet. Then Invenergy will present their application for Sloopy within 90 days to the OPSB. The OPSB then has nine months to review the project.

The community can visit the local project office at 150 W. Mound St. in South Charleston. For more information, visit sloopysolar.invenergy.com.