Preserve Knox County Ohio

05/04/2026

We need to be informed, aware, and alert.
Data Centers are being proposed all across central Ohio.

05/04/2026

Please read the articles below to see how two different communities were able to successfully defeat an Open Road Renewables project that was grandfathered just like ours.

All it took was their elected officials, including their County Commissioners publicly opposing the project.
https://www.morrowcountysentinel.com/2026/04/22/opsb-denies-crossroads-solar-project/

https://www.wosu.org/2025-02-28/developers-withdraw-application-for-logan-county-solar-grazing-facility-amid-local-opposition

If all of the Township Trustees and County Commissioners in Knox County had stood together with the residents, we have no doubt the OPSB Staff would have recommended the project be denied like they did in Logan County and Morrow County.

Please keep this in mind in the coming elections.

“Here, an opposition group spoke loudly about their fears of solar projects and convinced local public officials to share those fears," Open Road Renewables Vice President Doug Herling said in a statement.

04/30/2026

Some good news:

"The result has been so discouraging that one Texas-based developer, Open Road Renewables, has publicly declared it will no longer pursue projects in Ohio at all. "It's become a game of Russian roulette, and we're not going to play it anymore," said the company's vice president of development."

State governments have approved 90 percent of the renewable energy projects to come before them, and make decisions in about a year. Ohio leads in permit rejections and withdrawals.

04/30/2026

"Cities around the world already trap heat through concrete and asphalt. And it now turns out that solar panels may be adding another layer to this heat. It can actually form small ‘heat bubbles’ that increase localized warming."

A new development in the green energy transition has emerged. Solar farms around cities are creating 'heat bubbles' that are boiling some parts of the world.

04/29/2026

One of the biggest issues we had with the Frasier Solar Project was the lack of transparency and the feeling that the Knox County Commissioners at the time - Bill Pursel, Thom Collier, and Teresa Bemiller cared less about residents' concerns and more about PILOT revenue.

04/29/2026

Wait people can't do whatever they want with and on their own property?
What about "property rights"?

[This is for all of those people who argue that we should accept utility scale solar development because of "property rights" or "land owner rights"]

Property rights are real but they are not absolute.
There are competing rights and the public interest that also have to be weighed in the balance. Which is why there are restrictions like this in town and zoning regulations in many of our Townships.

Which is why we, a bunch of country folk and farmers, who value property rights, oppose utility scale solar developments on prime farmland.

City officials went back to the drawing board after residents pushed back on parking restrictions for RVs, boats, and campers.

04/28/2026

Worth sharing again.

COLUMBUS – The Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) Thursday denied Crossroads Solar I, LLC’s proposal to construct a 94 megawatt solar-powered electric generation facility in Morrow County. Crossroads Solar proposed to construct the facility within a 726-acre project area in Cardington, Lincoln, and ...

12/23/2025

Need a last minute Christmas gift that is one of a kind and you can pick-up locally?

We have two coffee tables handcrafted by a local craftsman from trees that were cut down right here in Knox County.

One or both of them can be under your Christmas tree for a donation to Preserve Knox County Ohio.

Long Table (Suggested Donation $400)
Beech
18" high
60" long

Short Table (Suggested Donation $250)
Hickory - live edge
18" high
31" long

These coffee tables are sturdy and can also double as benches.

Message us if you are interested to arrange payment and pick-up.

12/16/2025

It seems that the research is finally catching-up to common sense nearly every week now.

Concerns about flooding around large solar farms have become a point of contention in Virginia, with rural residents blaming runoff from the panels and developers insisting that existing rules are enough.

Virginia Tech researchers are almost halfway into a six-year, state-funded study to gather real-world data, measuring stormwater at multiple utility-scale sites.

The results may shape how state leaders revise design rules for major solar projects.

Read our full coverage here: https://tinyurl.com/rfh3ct2f

11/20/2025

If you have sold tickets or still have tickets available, please message PKCO with your updates. Thank you.