In 2020, the Conesville power plant discontinued activities in Coshocton County, Ohio. For 62 years, the 2 GW coal-fired power plant provided electricity to the area east of Columbus. The Conesville Power Plant employed 600 local residents at its peak and supported about 80 in its final days.
Conesville Power Plant. Credit: Conesville Industrial Park
Financial advisor and Central Ohio resident Robert Black wants to bring energy jobs back to Coshocton, but this time of a green nature. Black is chairman Ohio sunshinea new company that plans to open a silicon solar panel assembly plant with an annual production capacity equivalent to that of the former coal-fired power plant eight kilometers away.
“We have managed to come up with a plan to train the blue-collar workforce to become the green workforce,” he said. “And we’re solving one of America’s energy problems.”
Black said Ohio Sunshine will initially employ 83 local workers in the first phase of the 2-GW plant, which should be operational in the first quarter of 2027. Ohio Sunshine has a location on Papermill Road in Coshocton and should take its first step toward green construction in early 2026. The company has already signed with Ecoprogetti Srlthe Italian supplier of module production equipment, for all new equipment.
“For us, the US market will be one of the most strategic over the next five years,” said Laura Sartore, CEO of Ecoprogetti. “We are proud to bring our state-of-the-art European technology to Ohio Sunshine and are actively considering launching local manufacturing for our machines – complementing the service operations we have maintained in the US for more than a decade – to better serve our customers with a stronger local presence.”
Now that the construction plan is in order, Zwart is working on delivery contracts. He said he expects to get TOPCon cells from Talon PV, which is building a manufacturing facility in Texas. Should the market move in a different direction, Black has also discussed HJT designs with other brands trying to establish themselves in the United States. But the focus for Ohio Sunshine is to be as independent from China as possible.
‘The only way to get there [China-independent product] is to invest in new capacity that comes online. There are only a few factories,” Black said. “We are able to realize China-independent solar panels for household use based on the bill of materials we have.”
