By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
Energy project development is booming in Ohio, and farmers and rural communities have a right to be at the table as part of the process.
Ohio and the nation’s energy infrastructure—including solar, wind, biomass, natural gas turbines, energy storage facilities, pipelines, and fuel cell projects—are undergoing the greatest period of transformation since the region’s generation transmission and distribution projects were first established almost a century ago, said Kayla Richards, CIFT industry relations and business development specialist, at CIFT’s May Agribusiness Forum.
While the rules and regulations governing energy projects are ever changing, farmers and agribusiness owners are being asked to accommodate complex projects on or near their property.
“If you’re not at the table discussing your position, advocating for your needs and issues long-term, you will be part of the menu that’s going on,” said Dale Arnold, director of Energy and Utility and Local Government Policy at the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, during the forum.
Arnold’s schedule keeps him busy meeting with farmers, whether it’s about transmission line projects going through their farms or a water company testing wells prior to building a water tower on farmland.
The major impetus for the changing energy landscape in Ohio is that most of the coal-fired power plants are being retired, he said. Currently, there are only three that remain of the 27 previous plants in the state.
The energy projects vary by size, such as community-scale solar projects between 5 and 49.9 megawatts on a few acres to utility-scale projects of about 250 megawatts that encompass hundreds of acres.
Regardless of the size of the project, water resources become increasingly important for the new energy technologies. “We’re going to be working on energy project development on the local, state and interstate level,“ Arnold said. “Collaboration, discussion, understanding the size of the system and how the system works is incredibly important” for landowners and communities.
A little-known fact is that “local electricity is not a power plant in your county or groups of counties, and not even in the state,” he said. Ohio’s public utilities are part of the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland Interconnection (PJM) network that goes from the Carolinas to Chicago.
“The electric power that makes your lights shine can come from a number of sources anywhere within that system,” he explained.
When it comes to power generation and energy markets, eminent domain provisions do not apply. In that case, landowners and communities have the opportunity to work with the energy service provider to ensure quality of life issues and other key provisions are addressed. Landowners have significant negotiating power and responsibilities for leases, easements and other legal agreements related to energy projects on their property.
“I tell a lot of people, if they tell you, ‘Oh no, we can’t do that,’ then there are two words to remember in that conversation: ‘Meeting over,’” he said. “Your ability to be a partner in a number of areas is much better than you think.”
He advised farmers not to feel pressure “to sign an agreement on the hood of your pickup truck.”
Local governments, especially those within zoning authority, are also important in the process. They can impact the siting and regulation of energy projects in their communities, Arnold said.
“Understand who has jurisdictional authority over the project, know your rights and options regarding easements and leases, and participate in the regulatory process to advocate for your position,” he added.
Collaboration, communication and active engagement by all stakeholders are essential for addressing concerns and ensuring mutually beneficial outcomes.
