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A pair of Republican Senators are sponsoring the bill saying they want to allow communities to hold a referendum on wind or solar energy projects, giving voters more of a voice in the process.
But Dan Sawmiller, Ohio energy policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, says there s already a rigorous process in place through the Ohio Power Siting Board that includes ample time for public input. If there is a sort of double regulatory scheme that s designed in a way that makes it easy to kill these projects, all the way up to the eleventh hour, it just makes Ohio a state that s not friendly to that kind of investment, Sawmiller says.
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The Senate bill, SB52, gives county officials and voters more authority to oppose or even hold a referendum on a proposed solar or wind energy project.
Jeremy Kitson is from Van Wert County, home to Ohio s largest wind farm. He says this gives local residents a voice. To say that we have been ignored would be an understatement. This bill allows a compromise which we feel we can live with. We just want more transparency with developers up front and a more vital and meaningful say about development in our community, Kitson told the Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee.