But the New Market Solar project, built on more than 1,000 acres in Highland County, is generating controversy at the state and local levels. Many residents are upset at the loss of valuable farmland, and they don’t like living near solar facilities that are shielded by prison-like fences and scraggly vegetation. “It actually reminds me of 'The Hunger Games' in that we’re kind of like the sector that’s producing the energy for Cincinnati,” said Becky Williams, who has fought solar expansion in Highland County for years. Already nine large-scale solar projects are either operational, under construction or planned for four counties within an hour’s drive of Cincinnati in Clermont, Clinton, Highland and Brown.
The city of Cincinnati is now receiving enough solar energy to power more than 400 municipal buildings, and has already saved more than $1 million in electricity costs since last year.