Ohio Senate reforms wind turbine setback rule

Ohio Senate lawmakers recently advanced a reform in the state’s proposed biennial budget that would ease wind turbine setback regulations.

While the current standard is one of the most restrictive in the nation, the proposed change would restore Ohio’s setback standard what it was before 2014. According to a study published in May by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) and the Wind Energy Foundation’s “A Renewable America” campaign, restoring the standard to its per-2014 level would result in over $4.2 billion in local economic benefits.

“The Ohio Senate took a stand for the state’s future by aiming to reform burdensome regulation and
unleash the job-creating economic potential of Ohio’s wind energy resources,” AWEA’s Eastern Region Policy Director Andrew Gohn said. “We applaud the Senate’s leadership on this issue and urge the House
to support the setback fix as well.”

Last week, the members of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce sent a letter to Senator Hite in support the restoring the previous setback regulations.

“I applaud the Ohio Senate for moving forward a common sense fix to siting regulations which have stymied investment in new wind energy projects since 2014,” Gabriel Alonso, CEO of EDP Renewables North America, said. “Since 2011, EDP Renewables has constructed two wind farms in Paulding County Ohio and invested approximately $400 million. The Senate’s proposal to fix wind turbine siting rules will allow wind energy developers to make billions of dollars of investment in Ohio’s rural communities.”