Informational Meeting Slated for Proposed Solar Facility – Peak of Ohio

Dear Logan County Neighbor:

On behalf of Grange Solar, LLC (“Grange”), we are pleased to let you know about our plans to build the Grange Solar Grazing Center (the “Project”) in Logan County, Ohio. We are sending this letter to the owners of parcels that either will host part of the surface infrastructure of the Project or are located with 1,500 feet of those parcels. Because we may not know all of the tenants who live on these parcels, we request that you share this letter with any of your tenants or provide us with their names and addresses so that we can send them this information directly.

Description of Project

The Project will combine up to 500 megawatts of solar-powered electric generation with sheep pasture and grazing. The general purpose of the Project is to maximize energy production from solar resources in order to deliver clean, renewable electricity to the regional transmission system to serve the needs of electric utilities and their customers while supporting and growing livestock agriculture in Washington, Stokes, Richland, McArthur and Bloomfield Townships, Logan County, Ohio.

The Project will be located on approximately 2,568 acres of privately owned land and consist of arrays of solar panels on racking, along with inverters, electric collection cables, a collection substation, an electric interconnection line, access roads, an operation and maintenance building, pyranometers, laydown areas for construction staging, and livestock-related infrastructure. All above-ground structures and equipment will be fenced for safety and security, as well as to confine the livestock and exclude predators. Grange plans to file its application in October 2024, begin construction in the second quarter of 2026, and begin commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2027.

A map showing the planned location of the Project is enclosed.

Description of the Certification Process

In order to construct, operate, and decommission the Project, Grange Solar must obtain permission from the Ohio Power Siting Board (the “Board”). That permission is provided in the form of a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need (“Certificate”).

In the near future, Grange will submit to the Board an application for a Certificate for the Project. The Board will review the application to determine whether it is complete and meets all necessary requirements to be considered by the Board. After the application is determined to be complete, the Board’s professional staff will conduct an investigation of the application and issue a report of its investigation. The Board also will hold a local public hearing in the area where the Project will be built followed by an adjudicatory hearing in Columbus.

As noted, prior to the hearings, the application will be reviewed by the Board’s staff. The review must be completed and the staff must submit a written report to the Board not less than fifteen days prior to the date of the local public hearings and no more than 75 days after the date the application is deemed complete. The report will explain the nature of the investigation and include recommended findings with regard to the criteria that the Board must consider in reviewing the application. A copy of the report will be made available to any person upon request.

The criteria the Board must use to review the application are as follows:

▪         The basis of the need for the facility

▪         The nature of the probable environmental impact

▪         That the facility represents the minimum adverse environmental impact, considering the state of available technology and the nature and economics of the various alternatives, and other pertinent considerations

▪         That the facility will comply with Chapters 3704, 3734, and 6111 of the Revised Code and all rules and standards adopted under those chapters and under Sections 1501.33, 1501.34, and 4561.32 of the Revised Code

▪         That the facility will serve the public interest, convenience, and necessity

▪         The impact on the viability as agricultural land of any land in an existing agricultural district established under Chapter 929 of the Revised Code

▪         That the facility incorporates maximum feasible water conservation practices as determined by the Board, considering available technology and the nature and economics of the various alternatives.

Following the hearings, the Board will issue its decision on the application based on the above criteria. If a party to the case is not satisfied with the Board’s decision, an application for rehearing can be submitted and, if the Board denies the rehearing application, the party can appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Any…