![]() Also, a team at MIT wrote this year about 53 renewable energy projects across the country that were delayed or blocked, finding that many of the same objections arise over and over, about aesthetics, safety and property values.Īmong the other examples: In Indiana, more than a dozen counties have passed rules to stop construction of new wind farms because of concerns about overdevelopment and health issues in Nevada, residents are campaigning against solar projects in the desert just west of Las Vegas, citing the potential damage to native plants and animals and Virginia has become an epicenter of opposition to solar power, with high-profile fights like one against a project in Spotsylvania. Rural communities are increasingly rising up to oppose renewable energy, as shown in a 2021 study by researchers at Michigan State University and the University of Michigan. The divisions in Williamsport are important not because they are unusual but because they are common. The Scheins and the Barneses don’t speak much anymore, but they can’t avoid crossing paths on a regular basis. ![]() “They’ve been putting up road signs, and articles in the paper, you know, just like we were the devils of the earth,” Mark said. It was a Barnes who printed and helped to distribute hundreds of signs that say, “No Industrial Solar Plants on Farmland.” The solar opponents include the Barnes family, who are seated together on the opposite side in some of the only pews that are close to full. Instead of cheering a boost to the tax base and to farmers’ incomes, the critics see an invader that will make the place they love unrecognizable, and they see supporters of solar, even if they are friends and neighbors, as adversaries. Solar power is an essential part of dealing with the threat of climate change, but this proposal has inspired intense opposition from people who view solar as a threat to their idea of home. Listen to Dan Gearino and collaborator Tracy Wholf explore divisions over solar in rural Ohio, on ABC News’ Start Here podcast. “I don’t have very many neighbors talk to me anymore,” he said. His offense in the eyes of many in this community is that he signed a lease with a developer that wants to build a solar array, one of five solar projects in the area that opponents say will drive down property values and turn a pastoral landscape into a toxic industrial site. Mark is a retired farmer, a parent, a grandparent and part of a family that has attended this church, Williamsport United Methodist, since its construction in 1900. ![]() The hymn at this May service, backed by a pipe organ, is “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah,” about perseverance in the face of great challenges. His wife, Toni, stands by his side, but the rows around them are all empty. WILLIAMSPORT, Ohio-Mark Schein sings from the back row, aware that many of the people in the other pews view him as their enemy. This story is the first in a series about the conflict over solar power in Williamsport, Ohio, reported in partnership with ABC News.
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