The Ohio Supreme Court has overturned a permit previously granted to Oak Run Solar, a proposed 6,000-acre utility-scale solar and battery storage project in Madison County, Ohio, developed by Savion, a subsidiary of Shell.
A fractured majority of Republican justices sided with local and county officials who challenged the permit, finding that the application did not fully meet the Ohio Power Siting Board’s (OPSB) submission requirements.
The court ordered the OPSB to more thoroughly address the visual impacts of the project, leaving the door open for developers to resubmit.
“By failing to provide any photographic simulations or pictorial sketches from public vantage points that show the substations’ support structures, which appear to be some of the project’s tallest features, Oak Run did not meet the rule’s requirements,” wrote Justice Pat Fischer.
According to the Associated Press, Oak Run Solar would generate enough electricity to power approximately 170,000 households and include two 150-megawatt (MW) battery storage systems enabling around-the-clock energy availability. The project would also incorporate agrivoltaic elements such as beekeeping, sheep grazing, and groundcover gardening.
Developers estimate the project would employ 3,033 construction workers, create 63 long-term jobs, and generate $7.2 million in annual Madison County tax revenue.
The ruling is the latest in a series of legal and regulatory challenges facing solar developers in Ohio. A 2021 state law gave local governments expanded powers to oppose wind and solar projects, and the OPSB has rejected seven solar farms since 2020.
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