Hudson Energy presents 40‑MW “Blue Jacket” solar plan and seeks annexation, pilot payments

Kyle West, a senior developer for Hudson Energy, told the Bellefontaine City Council that the company is proposing the Blue Jacket solar project — a roughly 40‑megawatt, approximately 215‑acre facility near the Blue Jacket substation north of Bellefontaine — and that the developer would seek annexation into the city before negotiating a pilot agreement.

"This is the Blue Jacket solar project," West said, adding the effort "has been under development all the way back since September of 2020." He described the planned site layout, construction approach and technical components, saying the project would use driven pilings, single‑axis trackers, a 34.5‑kV interconnection and inverters sited at least 500 feet from residences. West said standard perimeter security would include a six‑foot fence with an additional foot of barbed wire and that landscaping and vegetative buffers would be incorporated to reduce visual impacts.

Why it matters: Hudson framed the site as appropriate because it sits on former sand‑and‑gravel mine land and is adjacent to the Blue Jacket substation, which simplifies grid interconnection. The company said annexation into the city would enable a negotiated pilot agreement that yields local tax and lease revenues to the city and other local taxing districts.

Hudson presented preliminary financial modeling. West said the developer anticipated "a minimum of $1 million" that would be distributed among Logan County, Lake Township, the Union Local School District and Bellefontaine City Schools under the proposed pilot framework, and the slide deck included a modeled distribution that the presenter described as roughly $11.1 million over a 37‑year period. The developer characterized the figures as preliminary and subject to negotiation and tax rules.

Council members and staff were told the company expects low ongoing traffic after construction, limited audible noise from inverters comparable to an industrial refrigerator and typical operations and maintenance tasks such as mowing. West contrasted the project's footprint and impacts with larger proposals elsewhere, saying a 40‑megawatt site would be far smaller than 500‑megawatt proposals and therefore less likely to affect prime farmland or generate heavy truck traffic.

Public comment and questions: Ben Staller, a resident, thanked the presenters but asked whether annexation was being pursued primarily to place generation inside the city boundary so revenue would flow to the city. Staller said he had heard the developers had planned annexation from the start and urged council not to "box out" opportunities but to write careful guidelines. "I would hate to see that we box out," he said.

Next steps: West told council the project is being presented now so the city can evaluate land‑use compatibility and potential conditions; he said any pilot agreement and annexation would be subject to negotiation and additional technical review. Council did not take formal action on the project at the meeting; the presentation concluded without a vote.