Samsung C&T plans $200 million investment in solar farm project in Washington Township

WASHINGTON TWP. − Nearly two years after the last public meeting, representatives of the company seeking to build a solar farm here returned Wednesday to Washington Elementary with new, more detailed charts.

Samsung C&T's employees and consultants put up new maps by an engineering firm. The maps showed which areas north of Louisville Street NE, northwest of Beechwood Avenue NE, west of Hartzell Avenue NE and north and south of Canfield Street NE would have solar panels.

The panels, which are expected to generate up to 150 megawatts at a time, will be pointed east and west to get the maximum amount of sunlight. But the panels won't move with the sun's position in the sky, as such panels would require more space, said Chris Simmons, a Massillon-based development manager for Samsung C&T, which is developing the solar farm.

He said about five acres of solar panels generate a megawatt. The solar farm site on properties leased for 40 years from five property owners is about 860 acres with some areas set aside as wetlands. Those areas were represented on the map as green areas.

The small rectangles represented inverter stations that would convert direct current power from the panels to alternating-current power that can be accepted by the power grid.

Solar farm took years of study

Simmons said the engineering firm Verdantas spent years drafting the map plus testing that the soil could support the solar panels and determining that the area had no archaeological sites or mines.

He said as part of construction, which is not expected to start until 2025 or 2026 at the earliest, the contractor will build some access roads so the panels can be installed on the farm fields. Transporting the solar panels to the site and installing them is expected to take up to a year.

Related: Samsung C&T plans to seek state permit for Washington Township solar farm soon

He said Samsung C&T needs PJM, which runs the power grid in Ohio and many other states, to approve the connection of the solar farm to the grid. Simmons said PJM has a large backlog of proposed solar projects to review.

And the company needs the Ohio Power Siting Board's approval of the farm. Simmons said the company expects to submit an application for a permit to the board by early January. The board's review could take nine months and would involved a public hearing.

"It's a slow process. You've got to be methodical," Simmons said, adding that state regulations require solar farms generate less than five decibels of sound. "We try to design these projects as best as we can to be good neighbors with the community."

He said the site's location near a major transmission line and a power grid with sufficient capacity is why Samsung C&T wanted to build the solar farm in Washington Township, with its vast open, flat land.

Some of the charts showed examples of how plants placed around the panels could hide them from view.

Another chart totaled what the company said would be more than $57 million in tax revenue over 40 years for Marlington Local School District, Stark County, Alliance library district, Washington Township and Stark Parks.

Official: Samsung C&T plans $200 million investment

Hanjoo Jun, a Chicago-based director for Samsung C&T, said his company plans to eventually invest $200 million into the Stark Solar project. The investment is based on the belief that many surrounding utilities will desire the renewable energy generated by the Washington Township solar farm.

"We believe there will be more energy demand in the future, as long as the U.S. economy keeps growing," said Jun.

He said Samsung C&T also is developing solar farms in Union County and in Xenia Township in Greene County near Dayton. The Union County solar farm is expected to generate up to 250 megawatts of electricity and Xenia Township about 20 megawatts. Jun said in total Samsung C&T has more than 100 solar projects in about 25 states, as well as others in Canada.

Some residents divided on solar farm project

Lauren Vachon of Washington Township was among the dozens of residents who attended the open-house meeting. She lives about two miles from the proposed solar farm site.

"I'm in support of solar so my thoughts are I'm excited and I hope it happens," she said. "I would rather drive past solar (panels) than fracking tanks."

Vachon said she recently installed solar panels at her home at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars even after tax credits. The panels generate power for the grid and she gets credits for her electrical usage. Her electricity bill has plummeted from about $200 a month to as low as $8.

Kim Anderson of Washington Township and her husband, Mark, who also attended the open house, were not enthusiastic.

She said she wanted to hear from residents in other communities who had solar farms installed near them, and if there were unanticipated negative impacts. And she wonders about property values.

"If you're right around these and have to look at them instead of seeing farmland ... is that going to be a benefit for that person?" she asked.

"I'm very leery about the whole thing," said Mark Anderson. "We have to get more information about it."

Samsung C&T plans to hold another public meeting about the solar farm at Washington Elementary from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 6.

Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Samsung C&T gives update on Washington Township solar farm