Residents say 'No' to commissioners' ban on large wind and solar

Don’t ban large solar and wind facilities in Portage County, said about a dozen speakers at a March 26 public hearing the county commissioners hosted at the Portage County Emergency Management Agency headquarters.

About 60 people attended the hearing, and, among those who spoke, not one of them supported a draft zoning resolution that would restrict large and economically significant wind and solar farms in eight townships. 

Atwater, Freedom, Hiram, Mantua, Nelson, Paris, Randolph and Rootstown townships have already passed their own zoning resolutions giving county commissioners authority to prohibit the construction of large wind or solar facilities.

The hearing was a required step before county leaders can consider a zoning resolution.

The draft of the resolution states that the commissioners have considered the “numerous potential impacts on users and property owners in the vicinity of such developments,” as well as the interests of property owners who wish to make their land available for them.

Mantua Township farmer Chuck Sayre, one of few speakers from a township named in the commissioners’ resolution, said he’d been approached by a company wanting to install a large solar facility on his land. Not signing on was his own choice, and that’s how it should stay, he said.

“I don't want the county to be able to say that we can't do that. I don't want to be regulated that way. I want to be good to my neighbors. My dad wanted me to be good to my neighbors. I think it should be a community decision as far as what we do with our farm,” Sayre said. “This just feels like big government stepping in and saying, ‘No, no, no, no, no.’”

A Paris Township resident said banning solar and wind farms is not the answer.

“We need to look forward to the future and think instead about projects such as community solar energy projects, agrivoltaics,” she said. “If you really want to help us, I urge you to support the development of wind and solar to ease the heavy financial burden that we are all subject to now, with no end in sight.”

Deerfield resident Logan Harrah said people should have the freedom to do what they want with their land as long as they are not harming anyone. (Deerfield is the only township in Portage County that does not regulate zoning, so the county commissioners couldn’t ban or restrict large wind or solar installations there even if they wanted to.)

Kent Environmental Council member Bill Wilen wondered if the commissioners were basing the proposed ban on science.

“Let me summarize some science for reality for a minute. We are living at a turning point in human history. The way we produce energy today will determine the health, stability and prosperity of our world for generations,” he said.

Former Kent City Council Member John Kuhar told the commissioners about a Cincinnati farmer who put a big array on his farm, and the cows use it for shade. With younger people choosing not to farm, though, large parcels of land are going fallow. Instead of selling the family farm, they could section off a part of it for solar panels to generate electricity, he said.

“I think before we regulate off all the good things that we have, we need to start thinking out of the box and see what we can do with the things and make it work so everybody wins,” he said. 

Todd Ambrose, business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 573, said banning wind and solar would be a step backward. Thoughtfully, locally managed dollar projects can provide farmers with supplemental income, create local union jobs and generate long-term revenue for schools and emergency services, he said.

“To pass a blanket ban on any form of energy at a time when our energy future is not secure is unreasonable,” Ambrose said.

Phillip Ralston, Portage County field rep for Laborers Local Union 894, said solar farms represent an opportunity for communities to take a stronger role in the future of energy instead of relying entirely on outside sources or unpredictable fuel markets.

“At the end of the day, private property breaks matter. Land owners should have the freedom to decide their own land issues, how their land is used,” he said.

Solar power is the cheapest source of energy and the fastest to build, and wind is number two, Bainbridge Township resident and Kent State University alumnus David Fuhry told the commissioners.

“A discriminatory ban against some forms of energy and not others is heavy-handed government intervention and signals Portage County is not open for business. Renewable energy can be managed properly as an opportunity for our communities and kids,” he said.

When county Commissioner Sabrina Christian-Bennett said the commissioners will consider the proposed ban during their April 2 meeting, Diamond residents Leslie and Jeff Wood accused them of ignoring the will of the people. Any potential ban should be put on the ballot, the residents said.

Commissioner Jill Crawford noted that of the dozen or so speakers, only a few of them actually live in the townships covered by the proposed ban. The commissioners are proceeding in the belief that the trustees there are representing their constituents, she said.

Should the commissioners adopt the resolution, it will take effect in 30 days, unless a proper referendum petition is submitted.

Christian-Bennett said Charlestown Township has forwarded a like resolution, and Suffield is considering one, so the commissioners will soon hold a second public hearing to consider them.

The commissioners have already approved Shalersville Township’s 2025 resolution codifying its anti-installation stance.