The move to withdraw the setback fix by the Ohio House of Representatives followed a compromise measure advanced by Senate lawmakers last week.
Ohio’s current wind turbine setbacks – the minimum distances wind turbines can be installed from residential properties - were adopted in 2014 with no public debate and are among the country’s most restrictive. They have essentially functioned as a ban on wind development and the economic benefits that come along with it. By including a fix in its proposed budget last week, the Ohio Senate prioritised attracting billions of dollars in investment, recognising onerous setbacks have pushed wind development into neighbouring states.
Besides bringing new resources into rural communities that could improve schools and fix roads, new wind development would have also attracted new business into Ohio. The business community rallied behind the setback fix, with vocal support from the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, Columbus Partnership, the Columbus and Toledo Chambers of Commerce, Amazon, and several other Fortune 500 companies.
“It’s hard to understand why the Ohio House under the leadership of Speaker Rosenberger would stand in the way of $4.2 billion dollars of economic development” said Andrew Gohn, Eastern Region Policy Director for the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). “House lawmakers turned their backs on Ohio’s businesses and rural communities with this decision. They turned away economic growth by ignoring the business community’s plea to make Ohio attractive for companies wishing to power their facilities with renewable energy. And they ignored the needs of the state’s rural communities, who would have seen enormous investment if setbacks had been fixed.”
Mr Gohn added that AWEA appreciates the strong leadership shown by Senator Cliff Hite, Senate President Larry Obhof, and the Senate leadership team who championed the vital setback fix. AWEA is confident that, with their support in continuing the fight, as well as support from Governor Kasich, common sense will soon prevail and that Ohio will grow more prosperous by unlocking the vast potential of wind power in the state.
Wind power has already attracted $1.1 billion of investment into Ohio and supports over 3,000 in-state jobs. Nationally, there are over 100,000 wind jobs across all 50 states and more than 500 wind-related factories.
Image: Wind turbines in the US (Theodore Scott, Flickr)
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