Ollie Axelrod, Staff Writer
Section 303.58 of the Ohio Revised Code allows boards of county commissioners to prohibit the construction of “large” or “economically significant” wind farms, as well as “large solar facilities” in unincorporated communities. This code was only made effective in October of 2021, but 10 counties in Ohio have already utilized the bill to restrict alternative energy development in unincorporated areas. On September 5th, the Lorain County board of commissioners hosted a public hearing to gather community opinion on the possibility of implementing such restrictions. County commissioners held the hearing before coming to any rulings surrounding possible restrictions of utility level solar power. This decision was made to ideally incorporate public perspective into the policy that they would be deliberating over in the coming months.
It’s almost strange to see a packed town hall meeting, but the agenda of this meeting resulted in a large and diverse turnout of adults in Lorain County, liberals and conservatives alike. In the half-hour allotted for public comment, every single Lorain County citizen spoke in favor of solar development across unincorporated communities. Environmentalists such as John Peterson, an Oberlin College environmental studies professor and Elena Stachew, a representative of the nonprofit organization “Power a Clean Future Ohio”, pointed towards the need for legislative reform to fight climate change and secure a sustainable future. On the other hand, Nick Bundren, a young conservative representing the right-leaning Land and Liberty Coalition emphasized the job creation involved in the construction of large-scale solar power and argued that the right to the development of solar power directly correlated with the right to private property.
More largely, the limits of the self-advocacy of those living in unincorporated areas were repeatedly brought into question. For those that are unaware, an unincorporated area is a typically isolated rural or suburban community that is not officially recognized as a town or city by local or state government. As a result, their policies are decided by surrounding towns or counties. One commissioner argued that all unincorporated areas should be able to bring forth their own conclusions about “whether or not they want to participate in mapping out our County allowing…or not allowing certain types of alternative energy.” Another citizen argued that people choose to live in an isolated and highly rural unincorporated area with the knowledge that they are waiving easy access to governmental and technological resources.
The bipartisan support of the development of solar power extends far beyond Lorain County. Although not everybody’s opinions on the climate crisis may align, few could frown upon the gargantuan economic benefits of a shift to alternative sustainable energy. While announcing the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Silicon Solar Manufacturing and Dual-use Photovoltaics Incubator fund this summer, the U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm led with a description of “thousands of good paying union jobs” and “made-in-America technologies”, promising “lowering electricity costs for hardworking Americans”. It is perhaps because of these benefits that Pew Research found that roughly 67% of Americans support the prioritization of developing renewable energy sources, with 87% of Republicans believing that the government should use some renewable energy in balance with fossil fuels. Considering that the United State’s Employment and Energy Report stated that solar and wind construction and maintenance employed 9,359 Ohio workers in 2022, it seems as if a bipartisan push towards greater developments in sustainable energy will bolster the state’s regional economy and employ thousands of Ohio citizens across different skillsets and careers. Who wouldn’t like that?