Township to tackle solar and wind farms

Etna officials consider prohibiting energy sites

With large-scale solar farms on the rise in Ohio, Etna Township is considering whether to prohibit energy farms in its portion of western Licking County.

The trustees opened their Tuesday meeting up for public comments on the topic as they consider whether to petition the Licking County Commissioners to make Etna Township an exclusionary zone for large solar and wind developments.

The construction of solar farms is ramping up in Ohio, with about 50 such projects in some stage of development or recently completed, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

This past week the Ohio Power Siting Board, the state agency that must sign off on new sources of electricity, heard arguments from renewable energy company Savion on the need for what could be the biggest solar farm in the country built primarily on thousands of acres of Madison County land owned by Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

And just north of Etna Township, Illuminate USA has committed to investing $220 million in Pataskala for a 1.1 million-square-foot solar panel manufacturing factory, one of the largest factories of its kind in the U.S.

Half a dozen people spoke during the recent Etna Township meeting, mostly opposed to allowing farms that would produce more than 50 megawatts inside the township.

Resident Judy Cafemeyer, who has advocated for the township to become an exclusionary zone for more than a year, said that while she respects the rights of farmers to sell or lease their land, she wants Etna Township to look at the full picture when considering its future.

She said she was disappointed the township didn’t have more planned for the Tuesday meeting.

“I want the trustees to be as intelligent and as informed on this topic as I am,” she said.

Trustee Jeff Johnson said he has not made up his mind on the matter and wants to see reasons for and against allowing energy farms, beyond the aesthetics.

“I want real reasons why or why not we should be doing it,” he said.

Trustees Mark Evans and Rozland Mckee agreed to host a work session — where experts can speak about the impact of energy farms and answer questions — at the township’s next meeting June 6. But then the two squabbled for several minutes about at what point the work session would start.

Eventually all three trustees unanimously voted to start that portion of the meeting 6:30 p.m. on June 6. mdevito@gannett.com 740-607-2175

Twitter: @Mariadevito13