Correcting Misinformation
False claims are often made about solar energy development, including the Crossroads project. Open Road is committed to providing objective, fact-based information for local officials and the general public and will set the record straight when false and/or misleading claims are made. Below, we provide a running list of false claims and information debunking those claims. Feel free to download a version of this page to print and share.
Solar Panel Fire Risk
False Claim: Solar panels pose a substantial risk of causing electrical fires.
Fact: Solar fire risk is minimal and does not threaten neighbors. Solar panels are made mostly of glass and aluminum and are not flammable. According to North Carolina State University, “[c]oncern over solar fire hazards should be limited because only a small portion of materials in the panels are flammable, and those components cannot self-support a significant fire.” Most of the news items referenced online related to fire and solar are either from rooftop solar fires, where roofs or other building material can support a fire near or under a solar panel, or battery-related fires, which have their own fire-risk profile unrelated to any adjacent solar equipment. For example, an often-referenced 2023 fire at a solar facility in Jefferson County, New York was actually a battery fire, a nuance that was missing in a number of media headlines about the event. No batteries are proposed for the Crossroads project.
Purchasing vs. Leasing Land
False Claim: Solar developers only lease land from farmers; they will not agree to purchase land because they know the land will be damaged or devalued as a result of the solar project.
Fact: Open Road is indifferent to leasing versus purchasing land for solar facilities and gives all landowners the option to lease or sell their land to participate in a project. The fact is that most landowners prefer to lease, as opposed to sell, their land because they want to keep the land in the family. Open Road is always happy to follow a landowner’s preference in this regard and has entered into agreements to purchase land from dozens of Ohio landowners for its projects.