I’ve been incredibly lucky to spend the past year working in Morrow County to support the development of the Crossroads Solar Grazing Center. I’ve been fortunate to be on the ground alongside our supporters throughout this process. It’s been amazing to help to build community engagement and advocate for clean energy.

Back in December, we felt some of the pressure and uncertainty lift off our shoulders - the OPSB Staff recommended approving the Crossroads Solar Grazing Center. Unfortunately, for the first time in its history, the OPSB ultimately reversed its decision. While this outcome was deeply disappointing, it does not erase the work that was done or the support that was built in Morrow County. Hundreds of residents spoke up, many for the first time, to advocate for clean energy and a more sustainable future for their community.

One of the biggest challenges we faced was securing support from local officials. I have been regularly attending Cardington Town Trustee meetings to assist our advocates. The more meetings I went to, the more I could see how much people care about their community. Even our opposition has a deep love for their homes. Despite being on opposite sides of the issue , the one thing that they had in common was their passion to help their county.

After seeing that, the most important thing to me was that I showed up for Morrow County. I wanted to care for Morrow County in the same way their citizens did. We employed deep canvassing to talk with residents about why solar would benefit their community. If we show up for them, we can inspire change in hearts and minds. In total, we gathered 156 letters from community members explaining how the project would benefit their county.

Those voices became the cornerstone of our campaign. Together with local supporters, we hosted solar events, webinars, and showed up consistently at public meetings. The supporters didn’t just become people I worked alongside, they became a part of my life. I was enveloped into a small part of their community. The people of Morrow County were the driving force when the OPSB staff issued a positive report on the project. 

Even though reversing the staff report’s decision was a surprise to everyone, we continue to advocate for clean energy in Morrow county. This campaign showed the power of local organizing and the importance of continuing to fight for community voices to be heard in energy decisions. Ohio Citizen Action remains committed to standing with residents in Morrow County and across the state as we push for a cleaner, more just energy future. Setbacks do not define a movement, the people behind it do.

If you’re interested in learning more about the people behind a movement, Ohio Citizen Action is hosting a panel of local organizers and how organizing works in their own communities. Sign up here! 

Last Wednesday was a true community event; neighbors standing shoulder to shoulder in the name of property rights, job development, and clean, affordable energy. I was so proud to see our supporters step up, brave their fears, and speak in front of a packed church in the heart of Cardington, Ohio.

The Ohio Power Siting Board's process for approving new utility scale solar projects in Ohio gives the local community the chance to share their opinions, fears, or support of the project before a final decision is made. While we have attended many of these hearings for other projects, this was the first time that support and opposition sat in the same space and heard each other speak from the heart. It is clear that there are a lot of thoughts on whether the Crossroads Solar Grazing Center is right for Morrow County.

Our voices, and those of Morrow Solar Supporters may have quivered (many of us haven’t spoken publicly in years) but our message did not. Ohioans need clean, reliable energy. We stand firmly with the farming community and the rights of landowners to choose what’s best for their family, their future, and their property.

And while solar may be a new way to use our land, it is still very much farming, especially in the case of the Crossroads Solar Grazing Center. This project will use agrivoltaics, a dual-use system where solar panels and agriculture work together. In this case, it means partnering with local sheep farmers so they can grow their flocks while the solar farmer keeps vegetation naturally trimmed. It’s a win–win for our land, our farmers, and our future.

Projects like this also bring meaningful tax revenue to our schools, helping strengthen the very institutions that support our children and keep our communities thriving.

I’m so thankful to be a part of moments like these. This is what real community looks like. This is the real America.

In Richland County, it all started with a phone call… or four… to connect Ohio Citizen Action with the local group pushing back against commissioners making a huge decision for the county without listening to residents. We had already seen the Richland County Commissioners take the opportunity to pass a ban on solar siting in 11 of 18 of Richland County’s townships. But that didn’t sit well with a group of local residents.

The Richland County Citizens for Property Rights and Job Development was created by a group of local folks who didn’t think this ban was right for their county. Well, Ohio Citizen Action agrees. 

When a ban like this is passed by the county commissioners, there is an opportunity to get it on the ballot for citizens to decide. Richland County locals did just that. With an extremely short timeline of 30 days to collect 3,320 signatures, they got to work. Our field canvass staff got to work too. It was all hands on deck with over 100 local volunteers, OCA canvassers, and non-canvass staff hitting the pavement to knock on doors of registered voters across the county, attend events like the county fair, and talk to folks passing through busy coffee shops.

The first of its kind to make it on the ballot in the country, after verifying that signatures were registered voters in Richland County, we had 60 signatures more than the requirement. In just 30 days, we did what I’d like to think the legislators who wrote SB 52 thought was impossible. We met all of the requirements and are taking the power back to the people at the polls.

The work in Richland County is a little different than what we have been doing the last few years. Typically, we work to support local folks who have a proposed solar project in their area to give them the resources and organization that helps them fight for the project to be approved. Richland County however, doesn’t even have a proposed project. This is about protecting property rights of the farmers who want to lease land to solar development for a steady and passive income. This is about protecting future opportunities for Richland County citizens. This is about not closing the door before anybody is knocking.

I, and a few others who are fighting to repeal the commissioner’s solar ban, recently spoke with Kathiann Kowalski, a freelance reporter with Canary Media. When I spoke with Kathiann Kowalski, it was clear she had really thought about this issue from every angle. I appreciated how deeply she engaged with the concerns of landowners, job-creators, and clean energy advocates. At the same time, it was surprising to hear Commissioner Vero describe the ban as a “good compromise.” From my perspective as an organizer, calling a ban a “compromise” is misleading and doesn’t reflect what so many residents in Richland County are working toward. This ban, passed by Richland Commissioners, shuts the door on farmers’ property rights and local jobs development before the community even gets to weigh in. To me, a true compromise is a transparent, community-driven process where folks can decide what’s right for their own land, not a blanket prohibition that removes that choice in 11 of 18 townships. 

What stands out to me even more, though, is the passion and determination of the grassroots group here in Richland County. These are neighbors who genuinely care about protecting property rights, strengthening their local economy, and making sure their community has a real voice in its own future. Their work isn’t just about supporting clean energy, it’s about ensuring people get to choose what’s right for their land and their livelihoods, through a fair and transparent process shaped by the community itself.

Getting on the ballot was only the beginning. In a game of hurry up and wait, we still have to figure out what the ballot language will be for this referendum on the May 5th Primary ballot.  Even though the last election was only a couple weeks ago, we are already gearing up to share information in town halls, talk to residents across the county, and support the Richland County Citizens for Property Rights and Job Development as they build a coalition of folks across the county who believe that while the state law may allow a ban like this, the commissioners passing one in Richland County was overstepping and not right for the county.

Be a part of this historic campaign and support our efforts with a donation. Every bit goes a long way. When we fight back against those in power, it takes each person doing what they can because it all adds up. As the saying goes, there is power in numbers!