Ohio Counties Can Now Ban Renewable Energy Projects

“At least 10 Ohio counties have passed resolutions blocking the development of new utility scale wind and solar projects within all or part of their jurisdictions in the last year,” with two more counties considering similar measures, reports Jake Zuckerman of the Ohio Capital Journal, threatening the growth of the renewable energy industry in the state.

Neil Waggoner, an operative with the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal campaign, said “These bans close off communities from the investment dollars driving these projects, new sources of revenue for local services and education, and also limit local property owner rights.” 

Notably, counties do not have similar authority to block local fossil fuel projects. In fact, Zuckerman points out that  “the state passed legislation last year removing authority from local governments seeking to block new buildings within their borders from natural gas hookups, an effort seen in some progressive cities to decarbonize buildings.”

Supporters of the bill say it returns control to local residents, but “Some of the opposition to wind turbines gets a bit more far-fetched,” Zuckerman adds. One local group fighting wind farms uses photos of wind turbines on fire to drum up fear on their website. “The Energy News Network previously reported on other dubious claims about renewables made during the legislative process, including one of solar panels ‘leaking’ chemicals like lead or cadmium into the soil.”