Proponents, opponents turn out for Hamden Energy solar project hearing

Teresa Everly and Justin Hitte on one side, and county officials Kevin Cozad and Red Thompson, Jr. on the other, have helped define Vinton County’s fight over Hamden Energy LLC’s proposed solar-and-storage project. The hearing at Vinton County High School Cafeteria in McArthur on June 10 drew residents into a decision that could reshape the former mine land east of Hamden, with the Ohio Power Siting Board taking sworn testimony as the proposal moved toward a June 25 evidentiary hearing in Columbus.

The case, 25-0970-EL-BGN, covers a hybrid solar and storage facility of up to 149 megawatts on reclaimed mine land across as much as 1,336 acres in Clinton Township, about 2 miles east of the village of Hamden. Recurrent Energy says the project is expected to begin commercial operations in 2029. Earlier public-information materials described a larger plan, up to 180 megawatts across as much as 1,440 acres, showing that the proposal has already been narrowed before the board reaches its next formal step.

For opponents, the size of the footprint remains the central issue. More than 30 community members crowded into a Vinton County commissioners’ meeting in February to talk about the project, and local resistance has organized under the banner of Vinton County Against Solar Farms. The debate has repeatedly returned to what the county would give up if a large solar field took shape on land many residents still see as part of the rural character around Hamden.

Supporters have argued that the same land could generate new value for the county. The Telegram reported in December 2025 that early tax-revenue projections totaled $1.2 million a year for local governmental entities, with Vinton County Local Schools slated to receive more than half of that amount. That figure has become one of the strongest economic arguments for the project, especially in a county where school funding and public finances often shape the debate over development.

The June 10 hearing showed that the issue is now past the point of abstract discussion. With the local hearing complete and the evidentiary hearing set for June 25 in Columbus, the project’s future will turn on how state regulators weigh land use, local opposition and the county’s promise of revenue from property that once produced coal. For Hamden and the surrounding communities, the decision will determine whether the former Sands Hill strip mine property becomes a long-term energy site or remains part of a broader fight over what Vinton County should look like next.