GREEN TWP., Ohio (WKBN) — Everything grows when the sun is shining. A Mahoning County farm is interested in harvesting the sun, and seeing its power turn into electricity.
The sun is an important part of farming. Greier Farms in Green Township wants to turn its land into a solar farm.
“It’s new, it’s exciting,” Sara Greier said. “We need options.”
The Greiers believe the project is a modern-day transition to help with renewable energy. The project wouldn’t remove pastures, or buildings, or the woods. In fact, you may not even see the solar panels.
“They can put in tree borders where they use pine trees and evergreens to put a border around, so if you’re at ground level, it’ll be just looking at pine trees in a row,” Wayne Greier said.
Alpin Sun is behind the $150 million dollar project, which would use 675 acres to generate power, 150 megawatts, enough to power approximately 26,000 homes. The Greier’s property between Calla and Detwiler is perfect for the project because it’s close to transmission lines.
“This has to have utility lines and that’s what we have, we have a great location for it. Basically, the only location that you can do it,” Wayne Greier said.
The project will have tax revenue benefits. Wayne Greier promises to help the community which helped him through a difficult case of COVID-19. He fights every day to return to health. This new approach to farming the sun will allow him to keep the farm in the family.
“Not only do we get to keep the land we get to farm and ranch, I get to enjoy it with my family, with my sister, with my mother,” he said. “We keep it together.”
The Greiers plan to raise sheep and bees between the solar panels. The project is ready: an Ohio law passed two years ago allows the decision to be made by lawmakers, though.
“We just want to educate more than convince because I think that there’s a lot of false information going around in the community,” Sara Greier said.
Mahoning County commissioners are holding a public hearing Oct. 30 on the project.
It’s being held at Greenford Christian Church for anyone who wants to attend.
