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GREENFORD -- Wayne Greier staunchly supports a proposed large-scale solar-powered-generating farm on a large chunk of his land, but the benefits he feels the project will bring extend far beyond his property.
"I'm sick and tired of people saying that only my farm will benefit from this," Greier, who lives on Washingtonville Road in Green Township, said about the massive facility that he is convinced also will benefit area unions by creating jobs, along with the area school system, struggling taxpayers and others.
"I support all energies; any way we can make us energy independent is a good thing, and if we can help the environment, how is that a bad thing?"
Greier made his feelings known about the estimated $150 million generating facility, which would be known as Matador Solar Farm, during a special hearing Monday evening that Mahoning County commissioners hosted at Greenford Christian Church, 11767 Lisbon Road, to gather people's input about the project. There was an estimated 500 people in attendance.
It was the latest in a series of meetings on the controversial topic.
Alpin Sun, a large solar energy company based in Germany, could build the solar-generating facility on about 675 acres of Wayne and Sara Greier's farm that the company would lease from them. The project would generate up to 150 megawatts of electricity and create about 150 jobs during construction, the company has said.
In addition, the solar farm would deliver more electricity into the local power grid, generate $41 million in new tax revenue for the county, provide long-term stable income for area landowners and supply the power needs of up to 26,000 Ohio homes (including all of the more than 4,200 residences in Green and Beaver townships). The additional tax revenue would go toward area schools systems, along with emergency and other services, Fred Null, a company representative, told the hundreds of people who attended the session.
Also, Alpin Sun would create greenspace buffer zones, plant trees and other vegetation between solar panels, provide habitat for local wildlife, recycle nonfunctioning panels, develop proper drainage and traffic-management efforts and stipulate ways for the site to be decommissioned at the end of its life, a company information sheet states.
Null, who has 35 years of experience in solar development, explained that the latest technology will be brought to bear on the project, such as sophisticated trackers that would adjust to high winds and other inclement weather events, automated solar panel positioning and proper means to collect and carry power to converters and the farm.
When completed, the solar farm "will meet all reasonable concerns of the community," Null said.
Before it can be installed, however, the proposal has to receive approval from the Ohio Power Siting Board, which developed five phases that includes hearings, all of which could take several months to finish after the application is reviewed. For decades, the OPSB had sole oversight for projects such as Matador, Null noted.
Another possible complication for the project is the passage of Ohio Senate Bill 52, which provides an additional layer of county control in the process, including adopting zones where such solar farms would be restricted, he continued.
The OPSB has its own requirements that state the solar-generating farm must be at least 300 feet from the nearest neighbor and 150 feet or more from a road. In addition, special agriculture-related fencing, not chain-link fences or barbed wiring, would have to be installed, Null said.
Despite the company's promises, many people spoke against the project. Of the first 25 residents who live near the Greier property and spoke during the meeting's public comments portion, 24 expressed their opposition to commissioners.
Also against the proposed installation was Randy Chismar, the Green Township fiscal officer who took issue with several of Alpin Sun's figures. According to his calculations, the project would generate perhaps $21 million over several years, not the promised $41 million in added tax revenue. Also, it likely would produce about half of the 150 megawatts of power, said Chismar, who called the latter figure "quite an exaggeration."
Other potential problems from the solar farm are air, soil and water contamination, erosion and runoff into nearby creeks and onto roads, along with the possibility of large fires, Erin Burns, a mechanical engineer and nearby resident, argued. She also noted that 10 recent such fires have occurred at similar facilities across the U.S.
"We support renewable energy, but such a project does not belong in Green Township," trustee Mark Stepuk added.
Other concerns those who spoke voiced were that the project would exacerbate flooding in nearby Turkey Creek after significant rains, take away a major food source from the farm, ruin the aesthetics and many residents' unobstructed views, decrease property values, create an incompatible land-use situation and leave cadmium and other cancer-producing heavy metals.
Commissioner David C. Ditzler said he and fellow commissioners Anthony T. Traficanti and Carol Rimedio Righetti will take residents' comments under advisement and would render a decision on the proposed project at a future meeting.