Sherwood solar proposal still flickering

The Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) had denied Lightsourcebp’s request for a permit to install solar panels on leased lands primarily north and east of the village limits earlier this year. But a rehearing for the proposal has been granted.

The original application was filed under the name Cepheus Energy Project, LLC, San Francisco, Calif. It proposed a project capable of generating 68 megawatts of power.

First proposed in 2021, the project faced opposition by one group as well as the Village of Sherwood, but was supported by those willing to lease their land to Lightsourcebp and others.

The OPSB denied the application on Jan. 19 following public hearings on Dec. 16, 2021 and Jan. 11, 2022, and an evidentiary hearing on June 6.

However, Cepheus Energy Project, LLC, filed an application for “rehearing” on Feb. 17. This request was granted on March 6.

Cepheus’ 45-page application for a rehearing, filed by attorneys with a Columbus law firm (Bricker & Eckler, LLP), included four assignments of “error.”

It called the OPSB’s denial “unjust and unwarranted” as well as “unreasonable, unlawful and unconstitutional,” and “unreasonable, unlawful and against the manifest weight of the evidence.”

No dates were noted on the OPSB website for a rehearing.