What an Ohio agrivoltaics project says about rural solar stereotypes

When solar developers look to build big projects on farmland, the same arguments tend to come up: The array will waste useful agricultural tracts, ruin views, and sully the pastoral character of the rural community, public commenters say.

In Ohio, a state where these debates have long played out, comments like that have even led the state’s power siting board to block projects. These sentiments, in Ohio and beyond, are sometimes motivated by misinformation from anti-solar groups, including organizations with fossil fuel industry ties.

But as one solar developer recently found, hundreds of negative comments don’t necessarily mean hundreds of people oppose a project, Kathiann Kowalski reported this week for Canary Media.

The Ohio Power Siting Board received more than 2,500 comments about the Grange Solar Grazing Center, which aims to bring solar and sheep together on a 2,570-acre plot in the state’s Logan County. When the project’s developer took a closer look at the feedback, it found 16 individuals had collectively submitted more than 140 of those comments, most of them opposing the project. When accounting for repeats, the company found that 80% of individual commenters actually back the solar array.

Supportive commenters said they expect the Grange project to bring jobs and public funding to the county. A 2023 report from the Purdue Center for Regional Development verified that solar projects typically create short-term construction jobs, bring in tax revenue, and help raise farmers’ land values.

Taking a step back, it’s worth noting that more than three-quarters of Americans support expanding solar, per a May 2024 survey from Pew Research Center. That includes 64% of Republicans — though the group has soured on the energy source in recent years.

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Two more big things

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Mass layoffs hit the Energy Department

The Trump administration closed last week with a big — but not totally unexpected — blow to the U.S. Energy Department workforce. As many as 2,000 probationary DOE employees were laid off, ending what one staffer described to Latitude Media as a ​“weird, quiet limbo” following President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

But the layoff didn’t last long for a group of employees at the Bonneville Power Administration. About 30 workers who maintain power lines and other infrastructure at the Pacific Northwest grid operator were asked back just days later, a union leader told Politico.

Clean energy smashed a record last year

The U.S. added a whopping 48.2 GW of new utility-scale solar, wind, and battery storage capacity in 2024, an increase of 47% from the year before, according to new research by energy data firm Cleanview. Texas led the way on solar and wind and was the runner-up on battery installations after California. Still, fossil fuels remain responsible for more than half of the country’s electricity generation — and the Trump presidency is likely to slow clean energy development this year. Akielly Hu breaks down the whole report for Canary Media here.

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What to know this week

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Green bank clawback: The new head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants to claw back $20 billion in federal green bank funding that was meant to help low-income communities build solar arrays, deploy electric school buses, and otherwise implement clean energy. (Canary Media)

Electric truck breakdown: Electric and fuel-cell truck startup Nikola, once valued more than Ford at $30 billion, files for bankruptcy protection after failing to raise money or find a buyer. (CNBC)

Rural clean energy freeze: Farmers across the country are taking a hit from the federal funding freeze as money stops flowing to a program supporting clean energy installations and energy-efficiency upgrades for agricultural and rural businesses. (Associated Press)

Sustainable jet fuel resumes takeoff: The Trump administration finalized a $1.44 billion loan for a sustainable aviation fuel refinery in Montana, a first since it paused all deals made by the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office under Biden. (Canary Media)

Derailing environmental justice: Advocates call out the Trump administration for shutting down the federal government’s environmental justice departments, saying the decision will​“create challenges and impacts that will last well beyond the current administration.” (Inside Climate News)

Cutting carbon in construction: As the federal government drops its commitment to buying lower-carbon building materials, several states are forming coalitions and ramping up their efforts. (Canary Media)

Offshore wind blowback: President Trump’s executive order halting offshore wind permitting could make it difficult or impossible for several Northeastern states to reach their ambitious climate goals. (Washington Post)

Dive deeper: A conservative group that once opposed Dominion Energy’s major Virginia offshore wind farm is now encouraging the project to go ahead, saying that halting it could put ratepayers on the hook for $6 billion already spent. (Canary Media)

Can tariffs clean up steel? A U.S. steel industry advocate cheers Trump’s 25% tariff on imports, saying those imposed during the last Trump administration spurred $20 billion in investment to modernize, decarbonize, and electrify the industry. (E&E News)

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