Did fake public comments cancel a 94 MW Ohio solar project?
The Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) on March 19 rejected an application for a $98 million solar project in Morrow County, Ohio. However, the board’s opinion about the project may have been swayed by a flood of fabricated public comments.
The 94 MW Crossroads Solar Grazing Center was a proposed dual-use project from developer Open Road Renewables that would have included livestock grazing on the site. The company proposed to build the facility within a 726-acre project area in Cardington, Lincoln and Westfield townships.
The OPSB found that, based on the opposition to the project from each of the local elected government entities within the project area and their constituents who are impacted, the proposed project would fail to serve the “public interest, convenience, and necessity” as required under Ohio law. The Board’s analysis used a broad lens to consider the many local interests and concerns regarding the project.
“Any positive benefits from the project are outweighed by the consistent and substantial opposition to the project by the area residents and as expressed through the local governmental entities,” the OPSB noted in its statement announcing the decision. “These include the lack of commitment to local sheep grazing, despite being a highly publicized component of the project; as well as a lack of trust from local governments 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 the area residents” appears to have been 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 views of the local governments,” Adair wrote on March 12 in an opinion column for the Ohio Capital Journal, where he claimed that public comments submitted in opposition were fabricated.
Adair cited a Canary Media article that independently verified that the comments were “were filed anonymously or signed by individuals who do not exist, from addresses that cannot be verified, by purported Morrow County residents who aren’t.”
Canary Media reported that there were “at least 34 instances in which people apparently gave false names or lied about their residence in Morrow County.” The publication checked all 34 accounts at VoterRecords.com and Whitepages.com and could only verify one name at its stated town. As of Jan. 31, Canary Media also found seven more potentially fake comments that had been entered into the board’s online docket since Jan. 13,
Of course, this isn’t the first time that opposition to solar in Ohio was tied to nefarious origins. In 2024, an group protesting against a project in Knox County was revealed to be funded by a natural gas executive.
Aside from providing 94 MW of renewable energy, the land would be planted with native grasses and other vegetation that would be maintained primarily by grazing sheep, and the land could be returned to farming after 40 years.
Outside of the benefits to the participating landowners, revenue from the project would have supported Morrow County, the Cardington-Lincoln Local School District, critical service-providing agencies like emergency services, career centers, and other local tax jurisdictions. The developer estimated that more than $285,000 in new annual revenue for Morrow County, including an average of approximately $150,000 for the school district each year. The project would have created more than 180 construction jobs and 2-3 operations jobs.
A copy of the OPSB opinion and order is available on the board’s website at OPSB.ohio.gov by clicking on the link to “Docketing Information System” and searching case 25-0142-EL-BGN.
