RWE Clean Energy proposed the Hillclimber Solar & Storage project in Urbana Twp., which is a 116.5 megawatt solar farm paired with a 40 megawatt battery energy storage system. CONTRIBUTED
James Cropper gave testimony during the Ohio Power Siting Board’s May 13 public hearing regarding Hillclimber Solar’s proposal in Champaign County. BROOKE SPURLOCK / STAFF
Joanne Massey gave testimony during the Ohio Power Siting Board’s May 13 public hearing regarding Hillclimber Solar’s proposal in Champaign County. BROOKE SPURLOCK / STAFF
About 40 people provided testimony for the Ohio Power Siting Board during a public hearing May 13 regarding Hillclimber Solar’s proposal in Champaign County. BROOKE SPURLOCK / STAFF
Staff Writer
About 40 people provided testimony for the Ohio Power Siting Board during a public hearing May 13 regarding Hillclimber Solar’s proposal in Champaign County. BROOKE SPURLOCK / STAFF
About 40 people provided testimony for the Ohio Power Siting Board during a public hearing this week regarding Hillclimber Solar’s proposal to build a large solar array farm in Champaign County.
RWE Clean Energy has proposed the Hillclimber Solar & Storage project on 628 acres within an 846 acres project area in Urbana Twp., which is a 116.5 megawatt solar farm paired with a 40 megawatt battery energy storage system that will produce enough electricity to power 18,000 homes.
The proposed project would consist of photovoltaic modules, also known as solar panels, ground-mounted on a tracking rack system, associated facilities such as access roads, underground electric collection lines, inverters and transformers, a collector substation and a seven-foot-tall perimeter fence that would secure the facility with access through gated entrances, according to the OPSB.
Solar modules would be set back a minimum of 300 feet from non-participating residences, 150 feet from the edge of the roads, 120 feet from wetlands and streams, and 50 feet from open water ponds, among other setbacks.
RWE Clean Energy proposed the Hillclimber Solar & Storage project in Urbana Twp., which is a 116.5 megawatt solar farm paired with a 40 megawatt battery energy storage system. CONTRIBUTED
The project is said to provide $18 million in local tax revenue over the lifetime of the project to support public services, including $14 million to Urbana City Schools, in addition to non-tax payments RWE has proposed to neighbors or local services, according to Hackett Landefeld, development manager for the project.
The project is currently in open status with the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB). Pending approvals, the company plans to start construction in the spring of 2028 and begin producing power in 2029.
Will Brailer and David Hicks, administrative law judges in the board’s legal department, conducted the hearing. About 40 community members spoke at the hearing, including those who are farm and land owners, union workers, families and students.
Residents who are against the project raised concerns such as losing farmland, water, wildlife and more.
James Cropper said land and water are two things they cannot make more of no matter how hard people try.
“Taking thousands of acres of farmland to companies … they’re going to be making money off our backs,” he said. “What this does, it takes money away from Champaign County and Urbana. It takes food off the table of the farmers who utilize that land and we can’t get that back.”
Andrea Grow, who has farmland within the project area, has two children getting ready to build on their property so they can pass down the family legacy.
“It breaks my heart to think that there is going to be fields and fields of glass panels surrounding my children and grandchildren when they go outside,” she said.
James Cropper gave testimony during the Ohio Power Siting Board’s May 13 public hearing regarding Hillclimber Solar’s proposal in Champaign County. BROOKE SPURLOCK / STAFF
Joanne Massey got emotional when speaking about how the solar panels will affect her property, where her and her late husband have lived for 32 years.
“I use the word home instead of house because it’s not a house to me. It is a home. We love it because it’s a wonderful place to raise children, because of the tranquility, the beauty, the sights, the crops growing and wildlife wandering,” she said. “My husband passed in 2025 (and) the old cliché comes to mind now with what’s being planned. He would roll over in this grave to see all that destroyed because that’s what will happen.”
Landrey Stallcup, a young girl who lives within the project area, said when she thinks about places she loves, she thinks about open fields, sunsets, wildlife, quiet roads and being surround by nature — not industry.
“I understand that people want more energy and new development, but I believe that where these projects are placed matters. Huge industrial solar farms do not belong in the middle of the beautiful farmland in small rural communities like ours … Once this land is changed, it will never go back to the way it was before,” she said.
Joanne Massey gave testimony during the Ohio Power Siting Board’s May 13 public hearing regarding Hillclimber Solar’s proposal in Champaign County. BROOKE SPURLOCK / STAFF
People who work for an energy nonprofit, property rights organization and members of local unions were all in support of the project, stating more energy is needed, land owners have property rights and would bring more job opportunities.
Shayna Fritz, director of the Ohio Conservative Energy Forum, said the project does fall within what should be the definition of public interest.
“Ohio families and businesses are feeling the pressure of rising energy costs. Electricity rates have climbed steadily and rate payers are struggling … What is within the public’s interest is clear. We need more generation on our grid and we need it now. Hillclimber Solar directly answers that call,” she said. “Approving Hillclimber is a decision that protects consumers today and for decades to come.”
About 40 people provided testimony for the Ohio Power Siting Board during a public hearing May 13 regarding Hillclimber Solar’s proposal in Champaign County. BROOKE SPURLOCK / STAFF
Tony Zartman, who spoke on behalf of Property Rights Ohio, said this case is about whether a landowner has the right to decide how they use their land or if it can be taken away by others who don’t own it.
“If you own your land, you have the right to use it. You have the right to lease it and benefit from it. That includes farming it, that includes branding it, and yes, that includes entering into an agreement for energy development,” he said. “What we are seeing now is a growing effort to restrict these rights. Not through compensation, not through negotiation, but through denial.”
Caleb Kanippe, a representative of the Central Midwest Carpenters Union, said as a member of the farming family he understands peoples concerns, but as a member of a union he sees how it can help trained workers.
Landrey Stallcup, a young girl who lives within the project area, gave testimony during the Ohio Power Siting Board’s May 13 public hearing regarding Hillclimber Solar’s proposal in Champaign County. BROOKE SPURLOCK / STAFF
In January, Champaign County Prosecuting Attorney Kevin Talebi filed objections to the project with the OPSB, on behalf of the Urbana Twp. Board of Trustees and Champaign County Commission, noting Hillclimber Solar, LLC’s “non-compliance with the restrictions imposed by the board of commissioners,” according to Talebi.
County commissioners passed a resolution in September 2025, with an effective date in October 2025, restricting where wind and solar facilities can be located, pursuant with Senate Bill 52 (SB 52). In November 2025, they passed a second resolution prohibiting the construction of this particular facility.
Urbana Twp. trustees also passed a resolution to enforce the SB 52 restriction passed by the county commissioners.
SB 52, which passed in the fall of 2021, allows a board of county commissioners to prohibit the construction of utility-scale wind or solar facilities altogether or in certain designated zones in unincorporated areas.
However, this project is grandfathered under SB 52, according to the OPSB, except for the ability to appoint ad hoc board members. Champaign County Commission appointed Julia Johnson and Urbana Twp. Board of Trustees appointed Matt Harrigan as ad hoc board members to represent them on the OPSB while that agency has oversight of the project.
Hillclimber Solar filed their pre-application letter to the OPSB in September 2025. RWE officials then held two public community meetings about the proposed solar facility in October and November 2025. They submitted their application for the project in February.
To be able to construct, operate and maintain a solar project, RWE has to apply for and obtain permission from the OPSB for a Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need.
The board reviewed the application to determine whether it’s complete and meets all requirements to be considered. They then conducted an investigation of the application and issued a report of its findings before holding this local public hearing in the area where the project will be built.
OPSB staff investigated the application for the proposed solar facility and recommended it be denied, according to the staff report. If the OPSB approves the certificate for the proposed facility, staff recommends 57 conditions for the board’s consideration.
Some of these include limit general construction activities from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. or until dusk, install a perimeter fence type that is both wildlife permeable and aesthetically fitting for a rural location, minimize damage to functioning field tile drainage systems and agricultural soils, and prevent the establishment and propagation of noxious weeds.
An evidentiary hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. May 26, at the offices of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio, 180 E. Broad St., Columbus. During this hearing, the applicant, OPSB staff and intervening parties will offer expert testimony and evidence regarding the proposed project.
After the hearings, the board will issue a decision on the application based on that criteria. If an applicant isn’t satisfied with the decision, they can submit a rehearing application, and if the board denies the rehearing application, the applicant can appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court.
For more information on this project and case, visit the OPSB website at www.OPSB.ohio.gov and case number 25-0904-EL-BGN.
Staff Writer
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