EXPLAINING WHAT’S TO COME … Stantec Senior Landscape Architect Daniel Malone (right) speaks with Richard Martin (left) about landscaping and visual mitigation planned for Repsol’s Ritter Station Solar Project. Martin is a landowner whose property would be impacted by the project.
SOLAR PROJECT MAP … A display at Tuesday’s public information meeting on the Ritter Station Solar Project shows the extent of the project area.
By: Jesse Davis
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
jesse@thevillagereporter.com
Residents got their second look at plans for a 1,700-acre solar energy project located in Gorham Township during an informal public information meeting at Fayette High School on Tuesday evening.
At the hearing, attendees were able to view details of the Ritter Station Solar Project laid out on 21 boards throughout the room as well as speak with representatives of Repsol and some of its contractors as well as staff from the Ohio Power Siting Board.
Construction of the project is projected to begin in the third quarter of 2026 with commercial operation beginning in the fourth quarter of 2027, assuming all necessary approvals are granted. Once operational, the solar farm would generate 199 megawatts of power.
According to Repsol, the project’s benefits to the local community include approximately $1.8 million in annual tax revenue, “over $70 million in estimated payments to local landowners in the form of leases, easement agreements and neighbor participation agreements through the life of the project,” “up to 200 full-time equivalent construction jobs” of which 80 percent “will be sourced from” Ohio, and further impact from “sourcing Ohio-based equipment, materials, and labor when feasible in all phases.”
Curt Judy, director of development for Repsol’s Renewables North America division, said site selection started with a desktop study looking for areas with few land constraints and lots of available land accessible to the interconnection grid where residents were open to the development of renewable energy projects.
“So, we start there, and then we begin our outreach, we begin our outreach campaign, speaking to landowners, see if they’re interested in leasing their land or selling their land to us and then we begin that process of securing site control,” he said.
Judy said landowners in the Ritter project area have been largely receptive. “They’re very eager for the project to start, they would like it to start as soon as possible,” he said.
“They like the idea of renewable energy. They like the idea that they can incentivize their income as well. Very supportive.”
Among the studies already completed for the project are archaeology and architectural history cultural studies, wetland and waterbody delineations, wildlife studies, review of multiple years of historic aerial imagery with a focus on seasonal and annual precipitation and drainage patterns, landowner questionnaires regarding the location of existing underground drainage, and sound level monitoring and projected sound level modeling.
Despite all the work already completed and the years that have gone into it, there are still many steps remaining before construction can begin, chief among them investigation and approval of the project by the Ohio Power Siting Board.
OPSB Public Information Officer Matt Butler said Tuesday’s meeting was an early step in the process, with the agency getting involved after Repsol files their permit application, when an investigation will be completed.
“There are steps ahead of that, but that’s really where the meat of things begins,” Butler said. “We’ll have a public hearing back here in the project area, it will be anybody’s opportunity to come and speak, give their pros and cons for the project, whether they support it or oppose it.”
“We’ll have another hearing down in Columbus a couple weeks after that where the company and the technical staff which we’re all a part of will present evidence and testimony and be cross examined by one another.”
According to Butler, there will be several ways both local governments and residents can get involved in the process.
“Both the township and the county will have to select an ad hoc board member to sit on the board when the time comes to make a vote on the project.’
“That could be one of the elected officials themselves or they could appoint someone else to serve in that role,” he said.
“We’ll also be looking for comments, both from members of the community – written comments that will be filed as part of the case record – but also resolutions and/or letters from the local governments to gauge their opinion, and all that’s taken into consideration as well.”
A landowner or group of landowners could also participate more formally by requesting an intervention, which would get them a seat at the table during the second hearing in Columbus.
“If they really want to take their participation to the fullest extent, that’s an option they can pursue,” Butler said. “There are filings that would have to request that, but the local governments can also take that route, too, and are often represented by the county prosecutor.”
He said the Gorham Township project is the second one in Fulton County the siting board has been involved in, preceded by the Arche solar project, which is already operational.
In total, the board has approved nine solar projects that are currently operational and 36 that are in or approaching construction, with nine additional project applications pending. Butler said he believes four applications have been denied.
“I would just emphasize that anyone who wants to get involved and participate in the process can do that and there are a number of ways they can do that from giving us a call and asking questions, send us an email with comments that they’d like to have filed in the case, come in to the local hearing once that’s scheduled and then ultimately if they’d choose to participate more formally, they can do that as well,” Butler said.
Fulton County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Matt Gilroy was in attendance at the meeting and shared his organization’s support of the project.
“Overall, we’re a pro-growth organization so we’re looking at this as a great development opportunity with the potential tax revenue created through the program, the pilot program, so we’re overall in favor of development opportunities that generate more revenue for the county and the community,” Gilroy said.
He said energy is one of five categories for development pursued by the FCEDC along with wood products, the steel industry, advanced manufacturing, and transportation/logistics.
Repsol is a global energy company with more than 17,500 employees in its home country of Spain, as well as employees in Morocco, Libya, Algeria, Singapore, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Norway, Italy, Germany, France, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, Peru, Mexico, Chile, Canada, and the United States.
According to Forbes, Repsol has $63.7 billion in sales and $3.3 billion in profit, and is ranked 332nd in its list of the top 2,000 largest companies in the world as of May 2024 based on sales, profits, assets, and market value.
To learn more about the Ritter Station Solar Project, visit FultonSolarProject.com.