A Canadian-owned company's plans for a solar energy facility in Columbiana County are officially dead after the Ohio Power Siting Board approved the company’s request to withdraw its application for the project.

The board on Thursday granted the request of Kensington Solar to withdraw its application for a certificate of environmental compatibility and public need for the construction, operation, and maintenance of a proposed utility facility.

In 2021, Kensington Solar announced plans to build a 135-megawatt solar-powered electric generation facility in Franklin Township, Columbiana County. That facility would have included 300,000 solar panels.

The project was met with resistance by a group of community members who formed the group Franklin Against Kensington Solar. The citizens opposed the project, claiming it would adversely impact the future of more than 2,200 mostly agricultural acres.

Franklin Township Trustees and the Columbiana County Commissioners have intervened in the case, arguing that the project is not in the best interest of the community.

Over the last three years, commissioners have banned large-scale wind and solar farms in unincorporated areas of all 18 townships in Columbiana County.

The Kensington project isn't covered by the township bans because its plans were filed before the bans were enacted.