Lawmakers are making another attempt to set standards for new wind and solar projects in Indiana. But this time, the state isn t making anything mandatory for local governments.
The bill was withdrawn from the Senate Tuesday because lawmakers said they didn’t have the votes to pass it.
The original House bill would have created a statewide standard for siting wind and solar projects that supporters say would have made it easier to bring such projects to the state.
Lawmakers complained that even after making changes to the bill, including allowing counties to keep existing wind and solar ordinances in place, county leaders still wouldn’t come to the table to work with them.
Sen. Mark Messmer (R-Jasper) likened the negotiations to a hostage situation where the captor shoots the hostage even after getting everything they want.
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The idea was to make it easier for renewable energy companies to invest in Indiana. Right now the state is a patchwork of different local ordinances some counties have banned wind farms altogether.
When county leaders opposed the bill, it was changed so that those who had more restrictive ordinances could keep them. Lawmakers also offered counties the option to have special renewable energy districts.
One of the bill’s sponsors, Sen. Mark Messmer (R-Jasper), expressed his frustration that lawmakers still couldn’t agree on the bill before withdrawing it.
“It’s like having a hostage crisis negotiation going along. You give the captor everything they want and then they shoot the person at the end of the ordeal anyway, he said.
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