CANFIELD, Ohio — Through the window of his combine, Wayne Greier watches his teenage son Blake drive a tractor across an empty field, towing a plow into position for another uncertain season of spring planting.
Greier would be worrying less if the solar farm he wanted on his land had come to pass. But local officials blocked it in 2023 under Ohio state law, and he — facing a heavy medical debt — had to sell part of his land to stay afloat. The deal that was killed would have brought him about $540,000 in lease payments every year.
“It was our saving grace,” he said. “It wasn’t a scary picture that everybody likes to paint about solar and the loss of farmland.”
Local opposition to solar has long been an obstacle for green energy developers. But some communities are working to reverse local restrictions, citing the tax benefits and jobs the projects bring and the lease payments from energy companies that can provide stable income to farmers in a volatile industry.
When a solar company approached him wanting to build panels on part of his land, Greier, a sixth-generation farmer, hesitated. But facing $1 million in medical debt from a long battle with COVID and related complications, he saw a chance to save his farm.
Greier said he and his family were ostracized as debate over the project played out in public meetings. His mental health plummeted. And the project was eventually blocked under a state law that allows counties to block construction of wind and solar farms on land they deem “restricted.”
“I was the one that was going to lose the sixth-generation farm. I was the one that couldn’t provide for my family,” he said.
A tough time for renewables
President Donald Trump’s hostility to green energy has battered the industry by wiping away subsidies, loans, and tax incentives. Even before his return to the White House, local bans on renewable energy were becoming more common. A 2025 study from Columbia University found that from 2023 to 2024, there was a 16% increase in local laws across 44 states that restricted such projects.
“Many communities want to decarbonize and probably theoretically support renewable energy,” said Juniper Katz, an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts who focuses on environmental policy. “But when it’s your community and your backyard, balancing these processes so people feel like they’ve had a say without creating so many veto points that nothing can get done, I think is the trick. And it’s not easy to do.”
In February, Dearborn County, Indiana, officials paused solar development for a year after concern from residents over the proximity of solar panels near homes and potential environmental impact of panel materials.
Bobby Rauen, who lives near part of a proposed 1,200-acre solar project in that county, is among residents who petitioned for the pause. He said he hopes officials use this time to create better protections for residents living near potential solar projects. He said he was concerned that farmland may not go back into production if solar panels are eventually removed.
After officials in Mahoning County, Ohio, halted Greier’s planned 675-acre solar project, he decided to help others who wanted solar on their land, saying he “didn’t want to be a victim.” As a member of the Renewable Energy Farmers of America, Greier has shared his experience with lawmakers and advocacy groups.
His advocacy includes speaking at public meetings in Richland County, Ohio, where advocates have gotten a referendum on the ballot this May to reverse the county’s ban on wind and solar projects.
“I want them to be in a county that can provide jobs, can provide a good school for them,” said Morgan Carroll, a lifelong county resident who has been working to rally support to drop the ban. “I don’t want to have to move.”
As the debate unfolds, farmers like Greier emphasize the need for the right to utilize their land for solar projects, which they believe is crucial for sustaining their livelihoods and providing for their families amidst rising economic pressures.
