A group fighting to uphold an Ohio county’s ban on renewable energy has significant financial ties to individuals and organizations that promote fossil fuels, as a campaign finance report filed this week reveals. Last summer, Richland County became one of the more than three dozen Ohio counties that bar utility-scale wind and solar in all or part of their jurisdiction under a 2021 law that places extra hurdles on siting renewables — though not fossil fuel projects. Richland’s ban applies to 11 of its 18 townships, blocking new solar projects of 50 megawatts or more and new wind projects of 5 MW or more.
What makes Richland unusual, however, is that residents who oppose the new restriction banded together and got it on the ballot for the May 5 election, allowing voters to decide if they want to restore the right to consider wind and solar projects on a case-by-case basis. If successful, the referendum could offer a blueprint for pushing back on the local renewable energy restrictions proliferating around the U.S.
The main group urging voters to keep the ban is Richland Farmland Preservation. Its recent campaign finance report is telling: As of April 21, the organization reported only five contributions, totaling $8,000. On the spending side, the campaign has agreed to pay more than $12,400 to the Republican political advertising firm Majority Strategies LLC for text messaging and digital advertising.
