The Times-Gazette: Additions coming to Highland Solar
Article link: Additions coming to Highland Solar
November 12, 2025
By Jacob Clary, The Times-Gazette
Additions to the Highland Solar Project were announced at the weekly Wednesday morning meeting of the Highland County Board of Commissioners.
Representatives from DESRI, Highland Solar’s project owner, were in attendance to discuss those new additions.
Joel Puritz, manager of project development at DESRI, said the project, which is located about 15 miles southwest of Hillsboro just outside of Buford, will be adding a battery storage area as well as an additional 2,000 acres of coverage area. He also said the company is “in the very early stages of development” for both additions, saying they were about 18 months to two years away from beginning construction.
Puritz said the battery storage project will be sited on a 55-acre parcel, with a 30-acre construction area, off Gath Road, sized at 300 MW/1,200 MWh. He said it will be designed to discharge power for four hours at a time and use a Lithium Iron Phosphate (LPF) Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).
He said construction would start “no later than” Q3 2027, possibly in the spring or summer, also saying the company intends to bring it online in late 2028. He then said it would connect at the same place, 345 kV Stewart-Clinton Transmission Line, as Highland Solar # AC1-085, which is the original project.
He also said each battery container would be about the size of a shipping container and have electrical equipment in the middle of the facility. He then said the batteries do degrade over time, but they don’t degrade to the point that they aren’t “useful anymore.” He said, because of that, everything the company installs stays in place over the life of the project and they “just add more on after the fact.”
Maria Smith-Lopez, a development associate with DESRI, said the second addition is added to the Highland Solar Project, titled Nuthatch Solar.
She said this aspect is an addition of 230 MW to the original 300 MW project. She then said the company is currently looking at Q3 2027 for the start of construction and a Commercial Operations Date of Q3 2028, saying it is “not quite as far along” as the battery storage project.
Smith-Lopez said the addition will be connected to the same infrastructure as the other two aspects of Highland Solar and will have an approximate footprint of 2,000 acres. She also said the added land will all be adjacent to the operating Highland Solar Project. She then said DESRI will be starting with the public information meetings in January 2026.
In other news, the board of commissioners voiced their hope to find someone in the community to help support the Imagination Library program in Highland County.
Dave Daniels, a member of the board of commissioners, said that the board met with Fran DeWine to discuss Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Program. He said the program gives books to kids aged zero to five years old once a month for that entire length of time.
Daniels said the local sponsor needed for the program has dropped out and now the county is looking for someone to help sponsor the program.
“Currently, in Highland County, 1,611 kids are a part of this program that get books every day or once a month,” Daniels said. “The total cost of a local sponsorship is around $25,000 … I think that what makes a lot of sense is if we can find somebody to coordinate the program and have multiple sponsorships. Just like we do with a lot of different things in the community. we ask. area businesses and they might kick in a small amount of money or a large amount of money, depending on what they’re able to do, but the program is a pretty good deal.”
He also said Highland County is one of only four counties that doesn’t have a local sponsor.
“I would hate for those kids not to be able to participate in this simply because we didn’t have a local coordinator and local sponsors,” he said. “So, if there’s somebody that’s interested, we’d like to know who they are so that we can maybe hook them up with the people in Columbus that would be able to help them kind of set up a program here to do that.”
Julie Bolender, executive director of Highland County Economic Development, said only 61 percent of that age group in Highland County is a part of the program, which equals $25,000.
Concerning SNAP updates, Jeremy Ratcliff, executive director of Highland County Job and Family Services, said his most recent guidance is that he expects partial payments this week “sometime.” He also said the state systems were shut down Monday through Wednesday to make adjustments.
“We expect and anticipate partial November payments to be issued in the coming days after the software system adjustments have been made in the last few days,” he said.
Josh Thacker, outreach coordinator for Anchor Addiction and Wellness Center, was also in attendance to discuss the center’s services and location.
He said the organization is still working to find a parking area to place its Mobile Opiate Treatment Unit. He also said they’re looking at the Rocky Fork Lake area because they would be able to hit Highland County, Rainsboro, Bainbridge, and Greenfield. Thacker then said the units would be parked somewhere for a few hours on a set day each week, so people know where to find them.
The board of commissioners then suggested North Beach at Rocky Fork Lake as a possible site for the unit, though nothing was confirmed as official at the meeting.
Greg Hawkins, executive director of the Highland County Homeless Shelter, was also in attendance to commemorate National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week held from Nov. 16 through Nov. 22.
Hawkins said the shelter is “doing well” this year, but they are facing a $40,000 deficit next year due to its Emergency Solutions Grant getting cut. He then said they currently have two beds left and they’re “close to capacity.” He also said the shelter “definitely” needs matching funds to go with its grants.
The board of commissioners awarded Lawton Perry the snow removal bid.
The board of commissioners also approved one authorization to execute, that being Change Order #2 to Mechanical Construction Company for an increase of $18,837 to Rocky Fork Phase 2.
There were 11 resolutions approved by the board of commissioners, which are as follows:
*Res. No. 25-256 is an authorization for a budget modification within the (2665) Specialized Docket Subs Fund in the amount of $2,000 from program Expense to PERS.
*Res. No. 25-257 is an authorization for a budget modification within (2295) Common pleas Criminal/Civil in the amount of $500 from repair and Maintenance to Other Expense.
*Res. No. 25-258 is a request for a budget modification within the General Fund, County Misc., in the amount of $3,000 from Group and Liability to Examinations.
*Res. No. 25-259 is a request for a budget modification within the General Fund in the amount of $834 from Unemployment Compensation to PA Grant Examination.
*Res. No. 25-260 is an authorization to give Highland County Job and Family Services Director Jeremy Ratcliff the authority to release and accept funds for inter-county adjustment of allocations through calendar year 2026.
*Res. No. 25-261 is an authorization for any active member of the Highland County Airport Authority to submit an application for funding and execute the grant contract and any related documents for the PY 2026 Grant Program.
*Res. No. 25-262 is an authorization for a budget modification within the (2115) Children’s Services Fund in the amount of $3,000 from FAC Other Expense to PERS FAC Children Services.
*Res. No. 25-263 is an authorization for a budget modification within the (2050) Public Assistance Fund in the amount $30,000 from Unemployment Compensation Overflow to Health Insurance Overflow ($10,000) and from Unemployment Compensation to Health Insurance ($20,000).
*Res. No. 25-264 is an authorization for a budget modification within the (2015) Child Support Enforcement Fund in the amount of $17,000 from Workers Compensation to PERS CSEA ($10,000) and from Unemployment Compensation to Health Insurance ($13,000).
*Res. No. 25-265 is an authorization for a budget modification within the Board of Elections, General Fund, in the amount of $8,000 from Supplies to PERS ($7,000) and from Advertising and Printing to Board Travel ($1,000).
*Res. No. 25-266 is an authorization for the listed “There and Now” purchase orders from Nov. 12, 2025, and the County Auditor is authorized to issue warrants for their payment.
There were also two contracts approved by the board of commissioners, which are as follows:
*Contract 75 is between the board of commissioners for a Maximus Service Agreement for a Central Services Cost Allocation Plan.
*Contract 76 is between the board of commissioners and Robert Kiser for a Lease Agreement Airport Crop Land.
