Residents tell Lorain County commissioners they support solar, wind power facilities

Numerous people showed up at Tuesday's meeting of the Lorain County Board of Commissioners to talk about solar and wind energy and the future of both in Lorain County. The board set aside time during its meeting to hold the first of several promised discussions about proposed rules for large solar and wind power generation facilities in unincorporated areas of Lorain County. To a person, all were in favor of the economic and future clean energy generation benefits they said are promised by solar and wind power. Senate Bill 52, a state law passed in June 2021, gives the board of commissioners "permissive authority" on site selection requests for wind and solar farms in unincorporated areas of Lorain County. Tuesday's discussion was about "the potential benefits and/or detriment of developing a plan to designate all or part of the unincorporated area of the county as a restricted area," according to the board's agenda. No decisions were made Tuesday, and the meeting was for information-gathering, Commissioner David Moore said. "The purpose of this is to get public participation, which is what we want," Moore, a Republican, told those who showed up for the meeting. "We want to hear from you." He said he received a number of emails from residents, primarily about solar panels. Moore said it was up to residents if they wanted to deal with the state Power Siting Board and officials in Columbus or have a say in what goes on and whether they "have the ability to control their own backyard." "Do you want them making decisions, or do you want local control? I believe that each and every unincorporated area should have public meetings in their own areas — this is just my opinion — and I believe they should recommend to this board whether or not they want to participate in mapping out our county allowing alternative forms of energy or not allowing certain types of alternative forms of energy," Moore said. The board wants "to have you participate and help us, and make sure you don't think the government is coming up with a plan and saying 'Here's what you've gotta live by,'" Moore said. Commissioner Jeff Riddell, a Republican, said solar farms tend to be "pretty passive" when it comes to affecting their neighbors, but wind farms are another matter. Neighborhoods, he said, need to come up with rules and figure out what the impact is going to be. "That's the conversation we start tonight," he said. "This is not an endorsement of or an opposition to solar or wind power, this is merely: 'How do we provide the zoning to allow it to occur logically and in fairness to everybody?'" Fourteen Ohio counties have previously had these kinds of discussions, Chief Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor Dan Petticord told the board. Moore promised several more meetings by the end of the year before a decision is made. Prior to S.B. 52, only the 11-member Ohio Power Siting Board had the authority to approve or reject proposed utility-scale renewable energy projects. If a county board of commissioners does not declare certain areas of its county off-limits to such projects or deny individual plans within 90 days of a proposal, developers may go to the siting board. Moore said Tuesday's meeting was one of a number planned through the end of the year. He said he would like to have policies and procedures in place within 90 days. Public comment The Rev. David Hill of First Church in Oberlin United Church of Christ thanked the board for having the discussion as the nation deals with "human-created climate change." "We are a country deeply divided about a number of issues, which is really limiting our ability to make positive change in all sorts of areas," he said. "I urge you to really think about having an overall plan rather than allowing folks to carve up a patchwork in the county that would really undermine us all working together on this very serious issue." John Petersen, associate professor of environmental studies and biology and the director of the Environmental Studies Program at Oberlin College, said the focus should be on economic development opportunities in Northeast Ohio, Lorain County's rural character and future generations. There is federal funding available if Lorain County has a plan to develop renewable energy facilities in Lorain County alongside sustainable farming that will empower rural Americans, but "if we restrain those activities we get no money for Lorain County," Petersen said. Twelve percent of Oberlin College's electricity comes from a 10-acre solar array and Oberlin is a community that cares about relying on green energy, said Petersen, who said he traveled to Tuesday's meeting in his electric vehicle and showed photos of his 1880s-era home and its solar panels. "Clean air, clean water is important to the next generation," as is removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, Petersen said. "I urge us to think about ways we as a community can act to support clean, renewable energy," he said. Lorain County should not shut itself off from clean energy when it brings jobs, economic and environmental benefits "and also it's part of the future," said Barbara Prior of Amherst. "We don't want to say we're against development if it's part of the future." Linda Arbogast, a Brownhelm Township resident and the city of Oberlin's sustainability coordinator, said Ohio ranks ninth in the U.S. for solar jobs, with 7,500 jobs in the industry and growing. Gerald Barna of Avon urged the commissioners to develop a plan to permit large-scale solar and wind farms. "Any regulations which are prohibitive or restrictive would wipe out opportunities for major economic benefits, business attraction and good-paying jobs," he said. Each proposed project should be evaluated "on its own merit and meet reasonable siting requirements which are developed on best practices," Barna said. Representatives of several clean energy coalitions and organizations offered their help to Lorain County during the discussion process. Elena Stachew, the Northeast Ohio strategy consultant for Power A Clean Future Ohio — a nonpartisan, statewide nonprofit that works with dozens of communities of various sizes in the state on clean, renewable energy resources, electrical transportation, energy-efficient land use strategies and more — said her organization was offering free consultation to the county. The group launched in 2020 to give communities resources that benefit people and the environment, including how to leverage federal funding and economic opportunities. Nick Bundren, a representative of the Ohio Land and Liberty Coalition — a "group of conservatives who support utility scale renewable development" and made up of farmers, landowners, and "key stakeholders concerned about protecting property rights" — said his group wants to develop communities while being "good stewards of the land." The Founding Fathers "understood that private property is the foundation of prosperity and freedom itself" and protected property rights so the economic benefits of private property "far outweigh the downside," Bundren said. He said the development of solar energy facilities means extra funding for schools and roads "lasting decades" into the future. "The children's children are going to be seeing the benefit of solar development," Bundren said. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.