The facility would consist of photovoltaic panel arrays, electrical collection lines, inverters, transformers, access roads, a generation interconnection line, an operation and maintenance building and construction laydown yards, according to the OPSB.
The solar installation could power up to 33,000 homes if the full, 1,600-acre project is built, the company said. The solar facility, which is targeted to begin operations in 2028, could create hundreds of new jobs and generate more power in Clark County, according to the company.
Although the staff recommended denial, the board not bound by the staff report and they could approve it. If the OPSB approves the certificate for the proposed facility, staff recommends 64 conditions for the board’s consideration. Some of these include:
- Limit general construction activities from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. or until dusk.
- Install a perimeter fence tyle that’s both wildlife permeable and aesthetically fitting for a rural location.
- Minimize damage to functioning field tile drainage systems and agricultural soils.
- Implement a complaint resolution process to address facility construction and operation complaints.
- Submit an updated decommissioning plan and cost estimate that includes removal of all support piles.
- Prevent the establishment and propagation of noxious weeds.
- Follow best practices for preserving agricultural land, including topsoil and grassed waterways.
- Avoid construction in the northern harrier habitat areas during the nesting season of April 15 to July 31.
- Conduct no in-water work in perennial streams through June 30 and not store equipment within any 100-year floodplains.
Commissioners will not have any control over this project and it will not be voted on or brought before the board, though they had the ability to appoint an individual to represent the commissioners on the OPSB while that agency has oversight of the project.
The project is partially grandfathered in, according to the OPSB, because they received a system impact study and paid fees before October 2021. It was already in motion before passage of Senate Bill 52 in the fall of 2021, which allows a board of county commissioners to prohibit the construction of utility-scale wind or solar facilities altogether or in certain designated zones in unincorporated areas.
County commissioners passed a resolution in January in opposition to Sloopy Solar, formally stating its stance on and asking the OPSB deny the application for a certificate for the project.
After reviewing information and considering resident concerns, commissioners determined the current proposed project “is not in the best interests of Clark County or its residents and does not satisfy the requirement that the facility serve the public interest, convenience and necessity under Section 4906.10 of the Ohio Revised Code,” the resolution stated.
In September 2025, commissioners also approved a resolution to restrict all large wind farms and solar farms from being built in the unincorporated areas of all of Clark County’s 10 townships for at least two years through Dec. 31, 2027.
Invenergy officials hosted two public information meetings in July and September 2025 to get public input on the proposed project. Once both meetings were held, Invenergy had 90 days to submit its application for the proposed Sloopy Solar Energy Center to the OPSB to complete the formal review process.
This center would be a first for the region since no utility-scale solar or wind facilities exist in Clark County.
For more information about the case, visit www.OPSB.ohio.gov, case number 25-0636-EL-BGN.
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