Why is the Ohio Power Siting Board allowing fossil fuel interests to shut down solar farms?
It is now well-documented — such as this news story by the Pulitzer Prize winning ProPublica about actually purchasing a newspaper in Knox County to use as a source of misinformation — that the exorbitantly wealthy fossil fuel industry in Ohio is seeking to halt solar farms because they are competition.
As Jake Zuckerman reported for Cleveland.com in March: 'Ohioans and their elected representatives have killed enough solar development to roughly power the state's three largest cities in the three years since state lawmakers passed one of the nation's most stringent restrictions on new solar development.'
But this is now poised to take a quantum leap due to a case at the Ohio Supreme Court. At issue is whether the Ohio Power Siting Board will be allowed to grant what is essentially 'veto power' over solar projects to a small handful of local officials.
If granted, it will provide an almost perfect vehicle for causing the demise of solar projects across Ohio.
Here is how this policy translates into solar rejections. When decisions are given to only a few individuals, there is no longer any need to persuade a majority of the public — the way a democracy works.
Instead the 'blitz' can be focused on just these few, making abuse extraordinarily easy. Solar advocates are becoming placed in an essentially impossible bind. If local officials are already 'locked up' by excessive lobbying from fossil fuel interests, there now appears virtually no chance of prevailing.
It is not an exaggeration to call this a de facto 'rigging' of the process.
A notorious example of this process at work is the Grange Solar Grazing Project. A count revealed a full 80% of public comments were in favor. Yet when a handful of local officials expressed opposition, this 80% majority — and the democratic process itself — got over-ridden and the project was rejected by power siting board staff.
Rural Ohioans oppose solar farms, right? Not so, developer finds
The Grange project was located in the home district of Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon — a primary co-sponsor of the openly anti-solar SB 52 legislation.
This writer is not privy to details, but it stands to reason this juxtaposition generated major pressure on local officials. The pattern repeated again on April 17: 'In yet another case of the state's hostility to utility-scale projects, state regulators have unanimously rejected a 150 MW project outside Canton because of organized opposition from local officials.'
Due to an appearance of favoritism, the solar advocacy group Third Act Ohio legitimately asked the OPSB to explain why such authority was being handed to local officials.
While completely ignoring the question, this group was referred to 'criteria' in a statute to guide decisions, and directed to a link.
When examined, this statute contained no requirement that a project meet approval of local officials. Instead, the group found a separate statute specifically FORBIDDING such.
The very title is 'No Local Jurisdiction.'
There is a strong appearance that this action is being 'manufactured out of thin air.' If reinforced by the state Supreme Court, the stage seems set for a sweeping shutdown of utility scale solar in Ohio.
Why does this matter?
Ohio is not just one state among many. It is the fifth most prolific producer of carbon emissions. Failure in Ohio would combine with a nationwide failure promoted by Trump and the Republican Party to inflict drastic global consequences.
Science warns that crossing a climate 'tipping point' will unleash a continuing spiral of increasing temperatures, with little public awareness about the immense scale of harm that would bring.
When our current 1.5 degree C increase spirals toward a 3 degree C increase, a band around the earth paralleling the equator would dry up from massive drought.
This area — called a 'dead zone' because of its unlivability — would spread north and south. Tens of millions affected by collapsed food supply would escalate into the hundreds of millions.
On a matter affecting survival of life as we know it, the OPSB must not be allowed to become the proverbial 'fox guarding the chicken coop' and tilt the process toward the vested interests it was supposed to regulate!
Gary Houser is a long time Ohio solar advocate, who also produces video resources on the frightening danger of a climate tipping point.
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Sherrod Brown Announces Senate Run In Ohio
Former Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio officially launched his campaign for another U.S. Senate term on Monday by citing 'reckless tariffs and economic chaos' under Donald Trump's administration. 'I didn't plan to run for office again, but when I see what's going on, I know I can do something about it for Ohio,' Brown said in a video posted online, citing the GOP's massive law that slashed Medicaid to finance tax cuts for the wealthy. Standing up for workers. Treating everyone with dignity and respect. Working as hard as possible for the people of Ohio.I've tried to live my life by those principles. But these days that's not what's happening in Washington—so I'm running for Senate. — Sherrod Brown (@SherrodBrown) August 18, 2025 The 72-year-old Ohio Democrat lost to Republican businessman Bernie Moreno in a hard-fought election last year after serving three terms in the Senate. Like other Democratic candidates, he's now hoping that an anti-Trump backlash will help send him back to Washington. 'For the past eight months, all they've done is make things worse for Ohioans, handing over your hard-earned money to corporations and to billionaires,' Brown said in the video. Senate Democrats are facing a challenging map next year, but Brown's entrance into the race, as well as former Gov. Roy Cooper announcing a Senate bid in North Carolina, increases their odds of retaking the majority next year. Still, Republicans have an advantage in a red state like Ohio, where Trump is popular. The Senate Leadership Fund, the main Senate GOP super PAC, attacked Brown as a 'career politician' who is 'too extreme' for the Buckeye State. How Union Members Who Make Cars And Steel Might Save A Red-State Democrat Republican Bernie Moreno Defeats Sherrod Brown, Unseating Key Senate Incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown To Run For Senate Again In Ohio
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
An Ohio City Faces a Future Without Haitian Workers: ‘It's Not Going to Be Good'
The aroma of Haitian feast — pork griot, djon djon rice, fried plantains — drifted through the break room of a metal shop in Springfield, Ohio. It was Wilford Rinvil's goodbye gift to his co-workers. For four years, Mr. Rinvil, a Haitian immigrant, had pressed steel into car parts at McGregor Metal. While the work was grueling, it offered a stable income, health insurance, a 401(k). And Mr. Rinvil, who turns 46 this week, thrived there, relieved to be away from his home country, which had descended into lawlessness and gang violence. 'He would do anything in the world for you,' said Lance Beale, the production supervisor. But Mr. Rinvil's sense of security began to unravel after President Trump took office and moved to dismantle protections for Haitian immigrants. He expected the administration to revoke his work permit. And with deportation a real possibility, Mr. Rinvil packed up his hard-won life and moved this month to Canada. 'You leave your home to survive, you do everything right,' he said in an interview four days before his departure. But 'they don't like you, they don't want you.' Mr. Rinvil was among more than 10,000 Haitians who in recent years settled in this working-class city of 60,000. They were welcomed by a Republican governor and business leaders who needed workers to power companies that had been enticed to invest millions here. Over the last four years, Springfield had rebounded, thanks in large part to the arrival of Haitian immigrants. The newcomers staffed auto plants, packed ready-to-eat salads at Dole and sorted packages at Amazon. They filled church pews, enrolled their children in schools and began to buy homes. But as the political winds shifted, so did their prospects — and, perhaps, Springfield's as well. The city became a flashpoint in the national immigration debate last year, when Mr. Trump, from the debate stage, amplified a baseless claim by his running mate, JD Vance, that Haitians there were stealing and eating pets. The accusation inflamed growing tensions over rising rents and schools' supporting students learning English. At City Commission meetings, some residents used racist language to describe the newcomers, accusing them of ruining the city and draining resources. After the election, the Trump administration terminated some humanitarian programs that had allowed Haitians and other immigrants to live and work legally in the United States. Employers in the Springfield area have had to let go of hundreds. In February 2026, thousands more are expected to lose their jobs when the administration ends Temporary Protected Status, a separate program that shields people from deportation to countries in crisis. Many Haitian families in Springfield face two bleak options: leave the United States entirely or remain without lawful status, dependent on underground work and vulnerable to arrest and deportation. There is no official tally of how many Haitians have already left, but pastors, employers and others say dozens of Haitians have already left. Some, like Mr. Rinvil, are heading to Canada. Others are planning to return to South America, where they had previously found refuge. Cratchit Aimé, 43, and his family put down roots in Springfield four years ago, after leaving Brazil and its economic downturn. Mr. Aimé, who works the overnight shift at a lighting factory, plays guitar in a church band. His 9-year-old son is thriving in elementary school. Last year, his wife gave birth to their first child born in the United States. Despite the hostility from Mr. Trump last year, they had decided to stay. But with the clock running out on his legal status, Mr. Aimé intends to redirect his savings, originally meant for a down payment on a home, to pay for their return to Brazil. Without legal status, 'you lose your freedom, and you can't have happiness,' he said, speaking in Portuguese. Even now, he limits his outings to work, church and errands. Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, offered his own sobering assessment last month. 'The one word I would use to describe Springfield today is stable,' he said, after meeting representatives from local businesses, medical centers and religious organizations. But 'suddenly losing a large number' of workers, he noted, would have a 'significant impact' on Springfield and the region, as businesses struggle to keep operating. And immigrant families who were once self-sufficient would require support. His conclusion was blunt: 'It's not going to be good.' A Life Uprooted In Haiti, Mr. Rinvil; his wife, Darliene; and their daughter, Ritshelle, enjoyed a middle-class life. He managed accounts at a cellphone company; she worked as a nurse. They owned a house and a car. 'We had everything,' Mr. Rinvil recalled. In 2017, after a traumatic event they declined to discuss, Mrs. Rinvil flew to the United States on a tourist visa intending to seek asylum, while he stayed behind to care for their daughter, then 8. But Mrs. Rinvil was alarmed by Mr. Trump's inflammatory rhetoric about Haitians — they 'all have AIDS,' he said at the time — and moved to Canada. Three years later, as political unrest and violence spiraled in Haiti, Mr. Rinvil decided he, too, had to leave. He arrived in the United States on a tourist visa in August 2020 and headed to Springfield, drawn by its abundant job opportunities and affordable living. His daughter stayed with her maternal grandmother. In 2021, the Biden administration extended Temporary Protected Status to Haitians in the United States, allowing Mr. Rinvil to stay and work legally. The work at McGregor Metal was a stark contrast to Mr. Rinvil's white-collar job in Haiti, but he embraced it. He started his shift at 5 a.m., worked until 3:30 p.m. and then delivered food for DoorDash and Uber Eats. He slept three or four hours and then did it again, always with a smile, said Kara Williams, McGregor's human resources director. 'We list perfect attendance every month, and he was on it every month,' she said. Another thing he did every month: sent $750 to his daughter. And every day, he spoke with his wife in Montreal, where she worked as a caregiver. Mr. Rinvil worried about safety in Haiti. Gangs, he said, took over his parents' home and businesses outside Port-au-Prince. He monitored his daughter's commute to school; children had been kidnapped. The family longed to be reunited. His wife applied for asylum in Canada, and he did the same in the United States. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Mr. Rinvil did not seem rattled by the unfounded assertions that Haitians were eating cats and dogs. Or that white supremacists had marched through town. 'It's unfortunate that Trump is stigmatizing Haitians,' he said in an interview last September. 'Thankfully, there are people who see us differently.' A Big What If Once in office, Mr. Trump vowed to deliver on his promise of mass deportations. But in Springfield, tensions seemed to have finally eased. At a recent City Commission meeting, more people spoke in support of immigrants than against them. And organized help was growing. Carl Ruby, a pastor, said that 20 churches were arranging to stand with 'our Haitian neighbors' in anticipation of immigration enforcement in the city. There have been no raids yet, but with hundreds of Haitians losing their jobs, the hardships are evident. On a recent Tuesday, the food pantry at St. Vincent de Paul received nearly twice as many Haitian families as usual. 'These are immigrant families who never needed help before,' said Casey Rollins, the charity's executive director. Roseamata, a mother of three who declined to give her last name, said that her husband had lost his humanitarian protection and his job a few weeks earlier. The family had enough savings to pay rent for one more month, she said while loading frozen chicken, bread and cereal into her cart. In a room nearby, staff members helped parents apply for passports for their children with citizenship, which could make it easier for them to follow their parents if they are deported, Ms. Rollins said. Across Springfield, there are disquieting signals that there are not enough workers to fuel economic growth. Home sales have stalled. Rentals are no longer in demand. Amazon, after being forced to dismiss hundreds of Haitians at its warehouse outside Springfield, has in recent weeks sent text messages to former employees who are eligible to work. One said: 'Miss us? We've got tons of roles with great pay — and no interview.' Jamie McGregor, chief executive of McGregor Metal, said that employers were bracing for further losses that 'will have a profoundly negative effect on our ability to function.' His company employs 30 Haitians, and those who lose their work permits will have to be terminated. And then there is a big what if. Will Springfield plunge again into ugly divisiveness, if residents begin seeing Haitians lining up at food banks, living in cramped housing and filling up emergency rooms because they have lost their health insurance? A Quiet Exit Mr. Rinvil said that the Trump administration's policies and statements left him feeling anguished and helpless. 'When a problem comes before me, I try to solve it,' he said. 'But the situation for immigrants I can't do anything about.' He has been diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure, conditions he partly attributed to stress and anxiety. There was a ray of hope: His wife had won asylum in Canada, paving the way for him and their daughter to join her. Mr. Rinvil gave notice and on July 11 bid farewell with his Haitian feast. He and Mr. McGregor posed for a picture — the boss with one of the company's first Haitian workers. A memento of a different time. Mr. Rinvil sold his car and his TV and sent $50,000 in savings to his wife. On the morning of Aug. 2, a friend drove Mr. Rinvil to the Columbus airport. After delays and layovers, he landed in Toronto some 12 hours later. An immigration officer asked him a few questions and then welcomed him to his new home. Within days, Mr. Rinvil had a Social Insurance number, akin to a Social Security number, and was looking for work in Montreal.
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
Will Oil Demand Peak Soon? Trump Administration Doesn't Want to Hear it.
Year after year, the International Energy Agency publishes detailed data on how much energy the world uses, where that energy comes from, and what the global energy picture may look like in the future. Lately, the I.E.A.'s influential forecasts have suggested that global demand for oil and gas could peak by the end of the decade as electric-vehicle sales grow and the cost of solar panels and battery storage plummets. That has landed the agency and its boss, the outspoken Turkish economist Fatih Birol, in the cross-hairs of the Trump administration. Chris Wright, Mr. Trump's energy secretary and a former fracking executive, has called the agency's projections of peak oil demand 'nonsensical' and has said the United States could withdraw from the global organization if it doesn't change the way it operates. House Republicans have said the agency is publishing 'politicized information to support climate policy advocacy' and have threatened to withhold U.S. funding. The United States provides around 14 percent of the agency's budget and is among its 32 member states. 'The way the I.E.A. sees the world is not the way the Trump administration sees the world,' said Michael Bradshaw, an associate fellow at Chatham House, a London-based think tank. There's a reason for that. The United States is the world's biggest producer of oil and gas. The Trump administration is keen to extract more and sell more to other countries. Detailed data that shows slowing demand for oil and gas gets in the way of that ambition, not least because the agency's reports are widely used by countries and companies to plan for the future. Six projections of primary energy consumption, in quadrillion British thermal units Source: Resources for the Future's Global Energy Outlook 2025 Notes: Projections include I.E.A.'s stated policies scenario, comparable policy scenarios from BP, Equinor and BloombergNEF, and reference scenarios from ExxonMobil and OPEC, which do not project peaks before 2050. Historical data from I.E.A. By Harry Stevens/The New York Times Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
