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Ohio Land and Liberty Coalition meets Lawrence County commissioners, asks about local views on renewable energy
Summary
A representative from the Ohio Land and Liberty Coalition told commissioners he is touring all 88 Ohio counties to discuss energy policy; commissioners said local reaction would likely be mixed and raised questions about ownership, tourism and use of former coal lands for solar.
Nick Bundren, a representative of the Ohio Land and Liberty Coalition, briefed the Lawrence County Board of Commissioners about his group’s 88-county tour to build conservative support for renewable energy and asked the board for feedback on local sentiment toward solar and other resources.
Bundren said the coalition supports an “all-of-the-above” energy approach that includes coal, nuclear, natural gas, wind and solar. He asked commissioners to rate their understanding of renewable energy and to estimate constituent reactions to medium- or large-scale solar facilities in Lawrence County.
Commissioners said reactions would be mixed and likely personal rather than strictly partisan. One commissioner said some county residents would weigh local financial benefits, and another raised the point that much abandoned coal land is not county-owned and that tourism could be affected: “We don't own the land...any land that we have, we'd like to get tourism to come in, and nobody wants to come see a solar field,” a commissioner said. Bundren suggested using brownfields and abandoned coal lands for solar development, a point commissioners discussed with caveats about ownership and local uses such as hunting.
Bundren also noted that many solar projects advertise local benefits such as support for schools and fire departments and described examples from nearby counties; commissioners asked practical questions about siting, scale and economic impacts. The meeting included a brief, informal exchange of local business and restaurant recommendations at the end of the presentation.
No formal county action was taken; the exchange was recorded as public comment and informal discussion. Bundren offered to be a resource for future questions and left contact information for commissioners.
