Press release from Invenergy: January 7, 2025 – Invenergy, the leading privately held developer, owner, and operator of sustainable energy solutions, announced today that its Hardin II Solar Energy Center has commenced commercial operations. Located in Hardin County, Ohio, Hardin II Solar will generate 150 MW of clean energy. As announced last month, Meta will purchase the renewable energy generated from Hardin II Solar. The project represents additional energy generation capacity in the region, thereby enhancing the reliability of the area's electrical grid. “We are grateful to work alongside the Hardin County community and our project partners to bring Hardin II Solar to fruition,” Michael Kaplan, Senior Vice President of Development at Invenergy said. “As energy demand continues to rise, committed partners like Meta are helping Invenergy bring more clean energy online.” “Meta continues to invest in opportunities that support our efforts to match our electricity use with 100 percent clean and renewable energy. Through Hardin II Solar’s Environmental Attribute Purchase Agreement, we take another step in achieving our energy goals while helping bring more economic benefits to project communities and delivering more reliable energy to the local grid.” said Urvi Parekh, Global Head of Energy, Meta.

Lima gets recognized for a future project that will be the largest one in the state. Wednesday evening, the city got the "Clean Energy Innovator Award" from "Power A Clean Future Ohio" for the floating solar field they are putting on the Twin Lake reservoir, next to the water treatment plant. The nearly five-and-a-half-million-dollar floating solar field will generate around two megawatts of power. The city pays around 200 thousand dollars a year to power the water treatment plant, and this will save the city money in years to come. The solar field will be made up of over 3,400 solar panels over four acres of the reservoir, which will be the largest floating solar field in the state.

Rep. Bob Latta, from Ohio’s 5^th Congressional District, introduced the SECURE Grid Act, which would require states to find the shortcomings and risks to their power needs. The act would require states to submit a State Energy Security Plan every year to get federal funding to improve security and resilience.  Latta says the United States needs more power and protecting and improving the current grid to defend against not only weather-related outages but also cyberattacks.