The Supreme Court of Ohio on Tuesday partially sided with local governments in Madison County and sent the permit for the Oak Run Solar Project back to state regulators, reversing a March 2024 approval for the 6,050-acre project. The court said the Ohio Power Siting Board had to take a closer look at the project’s visual plan before it can move forward.
The ruling means the siting board must review photographic images or sketches of the proposed buildings from public points of view, including the substations, before approving construction. Justice Patrick Fischer wrote for the majority that Oak Run failed to provide photographic simulations or pictorial sketches showing the substations’ support structures, which he said appeared to be among the project’s tallest features. Justices Patrick DeWine and Joseph Deters joined Fischer’s opinion.
The project is among the largest proposed solar developments in the country and is designed as an agrivoltaic installation, with crops and grazing livestock among the panels. It would span land in Monroe, Somerford and Deercreek townships in rural Madison County, about 35 miles from Columbus, and it is expected to produce an 800 MWdc solar array alongside a 300 MW battery energy storage system. Oak Run Solar has said the project could generate 800,000 kilowatt hours of electricity, enough to power 170,000 households, and bring $8.2 million annually for local governments and schools.
That scale is why the dispute has been about more than a few renderings. Local governments challenged the project over visual impacts, water quality, wildlife surveys, battery storage safety and emergency response planning, and the siting board had initially approved it with 46 environmental and technical conditions. The court did not reopen every issue, but it did make clear that the visual record was too thin for a project of this size.
Justice Jennifer Brunner disagreed, saying Oak Run had already provided enough information on visual impact because the tallest structures would be unnoticeable from the project borders. Justice Daniel Hawkins said the board approved the project without the required water quality and wildlife studies, and Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy said the incomplete emergency response plan harmed local governments. Kennedy wrote that the missing details were not minor points that could simply be filled in later. The case now returns to the Ohio Power Siting Board, which will have to address the visual impacts before any construction approval can stand.
Oak Run Solar said through Samantha Sawmiller that the permit was largely upheld and that only one clarification was required: a closer examination of the substations’ visual impact. She said the company looked forward to working with the board on that last open item as it seeks long-term economic investment in Madison County while supporting Ohio’s growing energy needs. The project also sits on land owned by Microsoft founder Bill Gates, according to the sources, adding another layer of attention to a fight that has already drawn in local officials, state regulators and a project with major power and financial promises.
