Randi Pokladnik says Stark County should adopt a solar energy project

Randi Pokładnik
| Special for Canton Repository

Let’s talk about the Stark Solar project, which is a proposed utility-scale solar energy system producing up to 150 megawatts of AC power, with a battery energy storage system.

This project will bring significant economic benefits to the community, provide jobs for local construction workers, help farmers by providing long-term lease payments, benefit local ecosystems and help mitigate climate change.

Improvements in technology have made renewable green energy cheaper than fossil fuels. Yet much of Ohio is not cashing in on the benefits of solar energy.

In 2021, Ohio produced only 4% of its electricity using renewable energy. If Ohio wants to produce green steel and decarbonize the steelmaking process in the Ohio River Valley, we must embrace solar energy in our state, not reject it.

Sun and wind audibility: Community residents and unions speak out at hearing on wind and solar energy in Stark County

Over 40 years, the Stark Solar project will generate more than $57 million for schools and local services in Stark County. Stark Solar will create construction jobs as well as long-term operation and maintenance jobs in the area.

A 2022 study found that the clean energy sector employs 3 million workers, almost three times as many as the fossil fuel mining and generation sector. Ohio communities need to benefit from these jobs. Unlike other energy sources, solar energy is not a consumptive form of land use; the earth is not destroyed.

Utility-scale solar power can be combined with other projects to provide additional benefits to communities.

Stark Solar will plant native grasses and herbs to increase soil stability and health, improve filtration, and aid in biodiversity and habitat improvement. Because solar energy does not destroy the land, agriculture could resume in the area if the solar panels are removed.

Additionally, solar leasing is lucrative and provides steady income for landowners and families on long-term leases that are typically three to five times greater than the income earned from traditional crops. These leases provide rural families with income, stability and the ability to preserve property for future generations.

There are several environmental benefits of solar energy. There are no climate-changing carbon dioxide or methane emissions. A 2020 study on air quality and decarbonization found that emissions of pollutants such as sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and respirable particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns were eliminated by using solar energy sources.

This is very beneficial for human health, especially in areas where air quality problems are observed.

There are a few misconceptions about solar energy that need to be corrected. In no area of the United States does the amount of existing and potential solar energy in a county exceed 0.5% of the total county area.

Data generated by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service showed that “PV development has not interfered with the use of agricultural land for crops on a large enough scale to threaten the economic basis of agriculture at the county level.” Solar projects can be expected to occupy less than 1% of the cropland in the entire state of Ohio.

Solar panels don’t end up in landfills; they’re recycled. Ohio-based First Solar is now involved in a recycling and end-of-life process that’s paid for by the company, not the community. In addition, solar panels are now guaranteed to produce at least 80% of their original rated power after 25 years.

Ohio farmers face obstacles, but not from renewable energy. Farmers in the Midwest are experiencing the effects of climate change; “increases in average temperatures, changes in rainfall that may lead to floods or drought, and an increase in the number of extreme weather events.”

When I look at my 8.4 kW solar panel system, I see hope for a cleaner and sustainable future for my granddaughters, as well as low energy bills every month.

The sun provides us with an unlimited, free source of fuel, and Ohioans should take advantage of it.

Randi Pokladnik was born and raised in the Ohio Valley. She obtained a master’s and doctorate in environmental studies. She is a retired research chemist and teacher.