COLUMBUS — The Ohio Power Siting Board recently authorized Dixon Run Solar, LLC to construct a 140-megawatt solar facility to be installed on more than 2,000 acres in Bloomfield Township, Jackson County.
The Dixon Run Solar project will consist of large arrays of photovoltaic modules, commonly referred to as solar panels, ground-mounted on a fixed tilt rack system, as well as associated facilities including access roads, underground and overhead electric collection lines, weather stations, inverters and transformers, a collection substation and a 138 kilovolt generation interconnect electric transmission line. The project will occupy approximately 2,085 acres of private leased land, according to the OPSB.
The OPSB adopted 46 conditions agreed to by Dixon Run Solar, the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, the Ohio Environmental Council and the board staff that the developer must adhere to in order to minimize and mitigate potential impacts during the construction and operation of the facility.
Dixon Run Solar must implement a plan to address the aesthetic impacts of the facility, “with an emphasis on locations where an adjacent non-participating property contains a residence with a direct line of sight to the project area and install fencing that is aesthetically fitting for a rural setting in locations where vegetative screening is planned,” according to the board.
The developer must implement setbacks of at least 150 feet from non‑participating parcel boundaries, at least 300 feet from non-participating residences and at least 150 feet from the edge of any paved state, county, or township road within or adjacent to the project area. Dixon Run Solar must post a decommissioning bond to meet the future cost of removing the facility at the end of its useful life.
In separate business, the board denied applications for rehearing regarding the board’s decision to deny a certificate to construct the Kingwood Solar project in Greene County. The board also denied the application for rehearing filed by a group of local residents regarding the board’s decision to grant a certificate to construct the Border Basin Solar facility in Hancock County. Additional information about the Sept. 21 Ohio Power Siting Board decisions is available at www.opsb.ohio.gov.
