March 24, 2026
The Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) on March 19 denied an application for a $98 million solar project in Morrow County, Ohio. However, the board’s view of the project may have been influenced by a flood of fabricated public comments.
The 94MW Crossroads sunbathing center was a proposed dual-use project by the developer Open road renewable energy sources cattle would also graze on the site. The company proposed to build the facility within a 726-acre project area in Cardington, Lincoln and Westfield townships.
The OPSB determined that, based on the opposition to the project from each of the locally elected government entities within the project area and their constituents affected thereby, the proposed project would fail to serve the “public interest, convenience and necessity” as required under Ohio law. Council’s analysis used a broad lens to consider the many local interests and concerns related to the project.
“Any positive benefits of the project are offset by the consistent and substantial opposition to the project by area residents and as expressed through local government authorities,” the OPSB noted in its statement announcing the decision. “These include the lack of commitment to local sheep grazing, despite it being a highly publicized part of the project; as well as a lack of confidence from local authorities due to the developer’s plans to sell the rights to another company before the facility is operational.”
The only problem is that the “consistent and substantial opposition to the project by area residents” appears to be the product of falsified public commentary, according to Craig Adair, VP of development at Open Road Renewables.
“During the evidentiary hearing, the claim of overwhelming public opposition unraveled, revealing that OPSB staff changed its position based solely on the positions of local governments,” Adair said. wrote in an opinion column for the Ohio Capital Journal on March 12where he claimed that the public comments filed in opposition were fabricated.
Adair quoted a Canary Media article that independently verified that the comments were “submitted or signed anonymously by individuals who do not exist, from addresses that cannot be verified, by purported residents of Morrow County who are not.”
Canary Media reported that there were “at least 34 cases in which people apparently gave false names or lied about their residence in Morrow County.” The publication checked all 34 accounts VoterRecords.com And Whitepages.com and could only verify one name in the indicated city. As of January 31, Canary Media found seven more potentially fake comments that had been included in the board’s online docket since January 13.
Of course, this isn’t the first time opposition to solar energy in Ohio had nefarious origins. In 2024, it emerged that a group protesting a project in Knox County was funded by a natural gas executive.
In addition to providing 94 MW of renewable energy, the land would be planted with native grasses and other vegetation maintained mainly by sheep grazing, and the land could be used for agriculture again after 40 years.
Beyond the benefits to participating landowners, proceeds from the project would have supported Morrow County, the Cardington-Lincoln Local School District, critical service agencies such as emergency services, career centers and other local taxing jurisdictions. The developer estimated that Morrow County would generate more than $285,000 in new annual revenue, including an average of about $150,000 for the school district per year. The project would have created more than 180 construction jobs and 2 to 3 operations jobs.
A copy of the OPSB recommendation and decision is available on the board’s website at OPSB.ohio.gov by clicking on the link to “Docketing Information System” and searching for the case 25-0142-EL-BGN.
Tags: agrivoltaic energy, Ohio, Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB), Open Road Renewables, Opposition
