MOUNT GILEAD — Jeff Sellers said Tuesday morning union leaders helped gain regulatory approval for a 144-megawatt, solar-powered electric generating facility in northern Morrow County.
Now workers in those same unions, including two based in Mansfield, have been denied the opportunity to fill what they believe are around 350 construction jobs as the $100 million Blossom Solar Project is built by Sol Systems
“For the last three years, the trade unions in this area have advocated earnestly for these jobs and for the opportunity for our members to be a part of this,” said Sellers, business manager for Laborers Local 1216 based in Mansfield.
“I know that the IBEW (Local 688) and other local community supporters testified on behalf of Blossom Solar to get this project permitted and approved with the hopes that we would have the opportunity to work out here,” Sellers said during an early-morning protest at the site southwest of Galion.
“But unfortunately, those hopes and dreams have been dismantled by Sol Systems and Qcells because we’re not going to be able to be on this project. It’s very unfortunate the ones that helped bring this project to life are the ones now being left behind,” Sellers said.
Some of that support came in a letter to the regulators (right) in August 2022 from Carl Neutzling, then the business manager for IBEW Local 688, also based in Mansfield.
In the letter, Neutzling said, “This is an incredible opportunity for our members who seek high-wage jobs to better (aid) our families and communities.
“We are able to use our technical expertise as electricians to build best-in-class utility infrastructure to meet the ever-increasing energy demands. Our members work in coal plants — and now we work in solar,” Neutzling wrote.
“We understand the need for additional electric generation capacity.”
In December 2022, Neutzling also testified in the nearby town of Iberia about the project.
“We appreciate the inclusive nature and robust community engagement that Open Roads Renewables employs in their project development,” Neutzling said during the licensing hearing.
“We believe that they are a true community partner, and look forward to making this project a reality.”
Mark Walter, vice president of external affairs for Sol Systems, issued an emailed statement Tuesday afternoon saying the company respects union labor.
“Sol Systems is committed to ensuring that the Blossom Solar Project delivers long-term economic and environmental benefits to Morrow County. We are proud to be working alongside our construction partner Qcells, who has committed to hiring at least 70 percent of the project’s workforce from within Ohio and paying all workers prevailing wage in full compliance with state law,” Walter said.
“We also respect the role of organized labor and have encouraged ongoing conversations between Qcells and local union representatives regarding defined scopes of electrical work. Those discussions are active and progressing,” he said.
When asked, Walter said he didn’t know which IBEW local was in discussions with Qcells.
“Those ongoing discussions are between Qcells and the subcontractors that are hiring union laborers,” he said.
Walter said Sol Systems, through the project, is contributing more than $1.5 million to local community organizations and expects to provide $1.2 million annually in tax revenue to support local schools, services and infrastructure.
“Our focus remains on building this project safely, responsibly, and with lasting benefits for the local community,” he said.
Open Road Renewables developed the project and gained approval for it. However, the company sold the project to Sol Systems in June 2023, according to a Facebook post from Preserve Knox County Ohio.
The demonstration on Tuesday at the site on Morrow County Road 31 included representatives from the Laborers Union Local 1216, IBEW Local 688, and Local 18 of the International Union of Operating Engineers.
(Below are photos and a video from the demonstration on Tuesday morning at the Blossom Solar Project site in northern Morrow County.)
Under a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement approved by Morrow County commissioners in 2024, the company agreed to hire 80 percent of its workforce from among Ohio residents.
Sellers, joined Tuesday morning by current IBEW business manager Brian McPeek and IUOA District Representative Kipton Siesel, said he had seen numerous vehicles entering the job site with out-of-state license plates since construction began earlier this month.
“We’ve seen license plates from Texas, Virginia, Louisiana and Utah,” Sellers said.
In response to Walter’s comments about “ongoing conversations” with IBEW, McPeek said he received one email asking for a list of contractors qualified to make terminations and connections at the end of the project.
“This portion of the work requires a high degree of skill. I sent them a list of my contractors that do that kind of work. I send 10 emails a day with a list of contractors … that does not qualify coming to the table,” McPeek said.
“They have over and over implied that by asking me for a list of contractors they are working with us. That is not the case,” he said.
The union leaders said company officials from Sol Systems and Qcells, the company they said is handling construction, have declined to meet with them to discuss the usage of local, union labor in the project.
A sign on a fence at the site from Renewable Works, a company that “provides construction services for utility, commercial and community solar projects,” would indicate workers are needed.
The sign offered a QR code for those interested in applying and said, “Great pay. Prevailing Wage. We love locals.”
“(Company officials) have said very little,” McPeek said. “They have brought up talking about other projects, but those are on the other side of the state, you know, it’s not on our project.”
Siesel seeing other workers operating heavy equipment at the site “is not optimal.”
“As a representative of the local, you want our members out there doing the work. When they bring in these non-union guys, the best we can do is try to find these guys and talk to them and maybe try to find them a better life,” Siesel said.
“That’s kind of why we are here, as well,” he said.
Union members, who Sellers said are at the site daily from 6 a.m. to noon, came on Tuesday “to bring attention to illegal and dangerous actions and the use of non-union labor by Sol Systems and Qcells in building the project.”
According to the company website, construction at the the Blossom Solar Project began July 7 with its partner, Qcells.
“This project will diversify Ohio’s energy mix by providing affordable, locally sourced solar power and enhancing grid reliability,” the company website said. “Blossom Solar utilizes cutting-edge solar technology and is designed to have minimal impact on the local environment.”