WARREN, Ohio – Companies involved in the development of solar farms have stepped up interest across Trumbull County over the past several years, securing lease agreements or option-to-lease agreements that total hundreds of acres.
Documents from the Trumbull County Recorder’s office show that since 2022, solar developers have signed more than two dozen agreements with landowners to lease pockets of property that are spread over a large portion of the county. These agreements include acreage in Vienna, Fowler, Newton, Bloomfield, Vernon, Warren, Bazetta, Bristol and Champion townships.
Between September 2022 and March 2026, a total of 31 leases have been signed with at least six different solar companies in the county, several of which were renewed this year, documents show. The renewals indicate continued interest by landowners seeking an opportunity to generate new sources of revenue, while solar firms still believe Trumbull County is a prime target for development.
For some farmers and landowners, the option to lease property is simply too good to ignore, says Lee Beers, assistant professor and extension educator with the Ohio State University Extension, Trumbull County.
“Some of the numbers that I’ve heard that these solar companies are willing to pay are far and above our current returns on crops,” Beers says. “I’ve heard numbers as high as $4,000 per acre annually. The return on solar development is huge compared to crop farming.”
Beers observes that the county witnessed a significant push by these companies in 2023 and 2024 to secure leases. “It’s calmed down a little bit, but it does seem to come in waves.”
Two new agreements, for example, were signed in 2025 with SolAmerica Energy Development LLC, an Atlanta company that last year completed an on-site solar project for NSG Group’s Ottawa, Ill., plant. The two leases – one in Vienna Township calls for developing 39 acres and another in Fowler Township would consume 69 acres – are in place for five years, records show.
Moreover, eight leases signed in 2022 with Dynamic Energy Solutions LLC, based in Wayne, Pa., were renewed for another four-year term earlier this year. In all, the recorder’s office shows that Dynamic still holds a total of 24 leases calling for the development of solar projects across the county.
Still, signing a lease agreement does not mean a solar project is imminent, Beers says. “Just because you sign a lease doesn’t necessarily mean a project is forthcoming,” he says.
Indeed, while many of the leases filed with the recorder’s office identify the length of the agreement, there are no details as to a timeline to begin or finish a project.
Yet each lease is different, Beers says, and he emphasizes that anyone considering signing a lease should first consult an attorney.
“It all comes down to the solar company and the lease they show an individual,” he says, noting it’s imperative that landowners protect themselves.
Most of the developments proposed in Trumbull County are small in scale, Beers says. This could be by design, since companies looking to build larger projects – identified as 50 megawatts or greater in Ohio – would need to file with the Ohio Power Siting Board and ensure compliance regarding setback mandates, noise standards, surface water control, and other matters.
At present, Beers says he is not aware of a solar project under construction in Trumbull County.
Local Reactions
Developing even smaller solar projects is not as simple as signing a lease, since parties at some point must deal with local zoning ordinances and other regulations, says Phil Pegg, Vienna Township trustee.
“If the panels are on the ground, then they can be controlled by the township and county,” he says.
Should a resident wish to place a solar array on their property and the land is zoned agricultural or residential, the project would require a zoning variance for commercial use from the township first.
Pegg says introducing solar farms in the township has elicited a backlash from some neighbors who would prefer the area remain pristine and free from any development. He’s also spoken with other trustees in nearby townships who say many of their constituents echo the same concerns.
On the other hand, there are those families that have decided to retire from farming and are exploring ways to diversify their income, Pegg says. Leasing to a solar company could be just the answer.
“Let’s say one farmer, for example, isn’t making it anymore. He’s retired and no longer wants to farm,” he says, but could collect income from lease payments. Yet a farmer across the street, he says hypothetically, is set against any development because he believes that it destroys the township’s way of life and tradition. “There’s others that do not want it because farming is their heritage, it’s their way of life,” he says. “That’s what city folks don’t understand.”
Moreover, there are costs associated with maintaining these sites, and Pegg questions whether these solar companies would properly take care of the project and whether they would still be in business over a 30-year lifespan of a solar array.
Pegg says that the township does not have the authority to place a ban on solar development, but has taken steps to mitigate their impact. “We’re not allowed to bar them,” he says. “But we can regulate them. We’re just getting ahead of the curve.”
Farmers in the county have introduced solar panels on the roof of their stalls, while institutions such as Kent State University at Trumbull commissioned a solar array at its Champion Township campus in 2021. Conversely, solar panels that were once active at the former General Motors Co. assembly plant in Lordstown have since been removed to accommodate a small AI data center at the complex, now owned by SoftBank Group.
Reliable Income
Michael Benson, president of Green Energy Ohio’s board of directors, says that farmers are open to solar leases and installing solar panels since they provide a reliable source of income and energy. Developers also benefit from power generation that is sold back to the grid, despite a spending bill passed by Congress last year that allowed energy tax credits for solar development projects to expire at the end of 2025.
“Solar makes sense economically by providing a steady revenue stream for farmers, especially when paired with energy storage,” he says. “For the developer, they are monetizing the sun – free fuel – so these systems should still pay off even without tax credits.”
A farmer growing corn for biofuels, for example, is likely to generate more revenue from a solar development, Benson says. “Crop yields and revenue based on market pricing is not as predictable as the sun rising every day,” he says. “Also, you don’t need direct sunlight for a solar array to produce power, just visible light.”
Todd Williams, a trustee in Fowler Township, says his community is divided on the subject – not unlike what occurred 15 years ago when energy companies canvassed the region in search of securing oil and gas leases.
“There’s an opinion in the township that it’s a bad idea to develop these things,” he says. “But it depends on who you talk to.”
He says those that don’t own enough acreage to realize profits from such projects are generally against solar development, while those that can benefit from it are more open to these proposals.
Williams says Fowler’s zoning board is exploring ways to develop a sensible plan that is able to balance the concerns of the area’s farmers and residents.
“I guess the biggest thing in Fowler is that we don’t want to tell you what you can do with your property,” Williams says. “But we also don’t want your neighbors to look at something they didn’t plan on. We’re trying to come up with something that everyone can live with.”
Pictured at top: The solar array at Kent State University at Trumbull was commissioned in 2021.
