Ohio bill takes stand against renewables with ban on new large solar and wind projects

In what could only be described as a stand against the United States’ transition to renewable energy, an Ohio bill has been introduced which is aimed at halting the development and buildout of large-scale solar and wind jobs for up to three decades. The bill, when passed, would likely place a roadblock in the way of companies such as Tesla Energy, that are now ramping their operations from the nation. 

As noted in a Energy News Network report, House Bill 786 aims to prevent authorities from certifying any solar and wind centre capable of generating over 50 MW of electricity. Even “efficiently significant” wind turbines with a capacity of 5 MW or more would also be prevented from the bill. The ban on large-scale wind and solar projects would end after three decades, or if additional legislation in the General Assembly emerges. 

HB 786’s chief sponsor, Rep. Todd Smith, R-Farmersville, cited complaints about “unregulated solar and wind turbines ” from the nation. Smith also argued that the invoice ’s goal is “merely to press the Pause button” on the growth of solar and wind facilities. 

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Interestingly , the official’s reference to a “Pause switch ” on renewable solutions echoes language from 2014, if lawmakers froze additional requirements under Ohio’s renewable energy and energy efficiency standards for a couple of decades. Subdued variations of the standards resumed in 2017, but even those had been gutted by HB 6. Smith and HB 786 co-sponsors Dick Stein and Don Jones were included in HB 6, which also happened to give enormous subsidies to two coal plants and two nuclear plants in the area. 

HB 786 has met several pushback from renewable energy assistants. Rep. Casey Weinstein, D-Hudson, that opposes the bill, commented that the bill is a “bury-our-heads-in-the-sand mindset that’s just so, so locked in with the status quo, while the remaining part of the planet and nation are going on. ” Dan Sawmiller, director of Ohio energy plan to the Natural Resources Defense Council, noted the “impetus for this law is entirely without merit. ” Neil Waggoner, Ohio effort chief for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal app, stated that HB 786 is “not just bad policy” however a “terrible policy. ”

Jane Harf, executive director of Green Energy Ohio, also expressed her opposition to this bill.  “There continues to be substantial testimony to the benefits that come to a lot of rural communities in Ohio by the presence of large-scale projects that encourage local infrastructure, schooling programs, and businesses. This bill doesn’t have any merit and once more sets Ohio on a transparent route backward while neighboring countries are embracing the long run,” ” she explained. 

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, whose members take part in a number of energy building projects, also have taken a stand against HB 786. IBEW Fourth District Representative Steve Crum shared with the business ’s position on the bill.  “IBEW is emphatically opposed to this misguided legislation. The solar industry is bringing tens of tens of thousands of jobs to Ohio and also our associates view this [because ] a huge chance to get work at the rural sections of our nation, where a number of them are living. Bad ideas like this should be rejected by our country leaders,” Crum explained. 

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