Land use

Solar

In new attack on solar, lawmakers spread myths about potato farms

Misinformation about renewable energy fuels local pushback to proposed energy installations and could threaten farmers’ livelihoods.

By Austyn Gaffney . 1 June 2026
Solar

This Vermont town embraced a wind farm. Solar is a different story.

Vermont aims to wean off fossil fuels faster than most of America — but large-scale solar projects are facing resistance from locals across the rural state.

By Austyn Gaffney . 21 May 2026
Fossil fuels

The Indiana community caught between coal and the data center boom

In rural Jasper County, two defining energy trends of the Trump era — reviving coal and building gas-powered data centers — are converging.

By Kari Lydersen . 14 May 2026
Land use

Confusing ballot wording may have tipped Ohio vote on renewables ban

Exit polling suggests Richland County would have elected to repeal its wind and solar ban, if not for residents who mistakenly voted in favor of the restriction.

By Kathiann M. Kowalski . 11 May 2026
Land use

Resident-led campaign fails to reverse Ohio county’s ban on renewables

Locals pushed deep-red Richland County to be the first to nix a wind and solar ban. The close vote suggests bipartisan support for clean energy.

By Kathiann M. Kowalski . 6 May 2026
Solar

Virginia’s new law blocks counties from banning solar

Two-thirds of the state’s counties ban or heavily limit solar. Now, those blanket restrictions are going away, though counties can still bar individual projects.

By Elizabeth Ouzts . 28 April 2026
Food and farms

Trump is blocking solar for farmers. Can the Farm Bill fix that?

REAP had been helping farmers go solar and save money since 2008, until Trump came along. A looming Farm Bill vote could seal its fate — or solve its problems.

By Kari Lydersen . 27 April 2026
$Aerial view of a site with fracking equipment surrounded by forest$

Fossil fuels

An Ohio court may OK fracking-waste wells despite pollution concerns

A legal challenge to the fossil fuel project faces dismissal, which would let the developer advance even as similar local pushback stifles Ohio’s solar buildout.

By Kathiann M. Kowalski . 23 April 2026
Solar

Ohio blocks big solar farm, despite apparently fake public comments

Regulators acknowledged the suspicious comments but deferred to local government opposition to Crossroads Solar, continuing what some see as unfair siting practices.

By Kathiann M. Kowalski . 24 March 2026
Solar

‘We’re harvesting the sun’: A huge solar project grows in California

A sweeping plan to build 21 gigawatts of solar plus batteries on 136,000 acres could be a lifeline for Central Valley farmers facing devastating water shortages.

By Jeff St. John . 24 March 2026