Towns and states don't want green energy – Watt?

Steve Goreham

Originally published The energy of truth.

The Trump administration’s action to reduce renewable energy capture headlines, but citizens have also postponed it. Efforts to deploy wind and solar systems are facing a rise in opposition in towns, counties and states. Challenge the mission of electric vehicles and appliances. The combination of rising local opposition and Trump’s funding cuts has the potential to end the transition to green energy.

Over the past two decades, the U.S. green energy revolution has had little objection. Fearing fears of artificially induced global warming, federal regulators provide expanding incentives for renewable energy in the form of authorizations, tax credits, loans and subsidies. Countries have added incentives to promote the adoption of wind, solar, electric vehicles, heat pumps, green hydrogen and carbon dioxide (CO2) capture systems.

By 2050, 23 states have legal or executive orders that require net zero electricity. Electric power companies are forced to comply with state authorizations. Since 2000, wind and solar power have generated approximately 16% of electricity in the United States, wind (10.5%) and solar (5.1%) in 2024.

There are 22 states with electric vehicle (EV) authorization requiring all sales of new vehicles to be sold on future dates such as 2035. Plug-in electric vehicles sales grew from zero two decades ago to 8% last year.

Climate policy advocates want homeowners to switch from natural gas and propane equipment to heat pumps and other appliances. In 2019, Berkeley, California became the first city to ban gas in new residential buildings. Now, cities and counties in seven states now ban gas in new buildings, including a statewide ban in New York.

The wave of renewable energy programs facilitated and subsidized by subsidies includes electric vehicle charging stations, CO2 pipelines and green hydrogen production facilities. But it is clear that many towns, counties and states no longer support the green energy movement. The high tide of the opposition threatens the deployment of renewable energy.

Last month, the Arizona State Capitol passed legislation that would prohibit wind systems from being built on more than 90% of state land. The legislation would force the Fresh Wind project to be at least 12 miles from any residential property. The bill is being considered in the Arizona Senate.

Oklahoma is the third largest generator in the United States. But attendees at the recent rally at the State Capitol called for a ban on fresh wind and solar projects. Local residents expressed concern about the economic, environmental and health issues of renewable systems.

Opposition to wind and solar energy has grown for more than a decade and has accelerated recently. In 2009, North Carolina banned fresh air projects in 23 counties. Kentucky imposed an effective statewide ban on fresh air construction in 2014. Connecticut, Florida, Tennessee and Vermont have established bans that are effective across the state.

A 2023 study by USA Today found that in the United States, the number of counties with wind turbine restrictions or bans increased from two in 2008 to 411 in 2023. The number of lockdown counties increased to more than 500 in 2024, while Florida prohibits risk systems within a mile of sea and coastal terrain. Now, about 16% of counties in the United States prohibit or restrict wind systems. More than 100 counties have restricted the deployment of solar systems. The number of counties that prohibit wind or solar energy is faster than those that deploy wind or solar energy for the first time.

Reporter Robert Bryce has developed a renewable denial database. The database shows the accumulation of 800 wind and solar projects rejected in the United States since 2015. It shows a rise in rejection trends, including particularly large in solar rejection in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

There are many reasons to oppose wind and solar projects. Towns focus on the aesthetic impact of the 600-foot-tall turbine tower and solar panels, losing the wind and solar systems spreading in farmland, the low-frequency noise of wind turbines, and the impact on the value of nearby properties. Retirement systems generate large amounts of turbine blades and solar panel waste that fills local landfills or must be transported to landfills in other states.

Compared to coal, natural gas or nuclear generators, wind and solar land requires more than 100 times more land. While traditional power plants are often located near cities, utility-scale wind and solar systems are distributed across wide areas, often on ridges, far from the center of the population. Therefore, renewable energy requires long transmission lines and two to three times the transmission tower compared to conventional power plants. Residents are also often opposed to building new gearboxes.

Some states have decided to overturn local opposition to wind and solar energy. The 2023 Illinois law rejects wind and solar restrictions or bans established by more than half of the states and counties. The Michigan law in 2023 also rejected local opposition in more than 20 counties. Local opposition can be bypassed in seven other states.

In 2024, U.S. electric vehicle sales rose only 7%. California and ten other states currently require 35% of new car sales in the 2026 model year to be electric. As consumer adoption of electric vehicles slows, it is impossible for all states except California. At the end of 2024, Virginia canceled their EV mission. Looking for other states also cancelled.

As we mentioned, cities and counties in seven states have banned the use of gas equipment in new buildings, but 24 states have enacted regulations that prohibit city and county bans over the past five years. Most states want citizens and businesses to choose their favorite family energy.

Utilities are plans to rethink renewable electricity. The AI ​​revolution could require Texas, Virginia and other states to double their power generation capacity over the next decade. Wind and solar systems cannot meet this demand. Nuclear power plants are being restarted, coal-fired power plants are being delayed, and more than 200 natural gas power plants are being planned or under construction.

Carbon dioxide capture and green hydrogen projects are also challenged. South Dakota just signed a law that prohibits the use of outstanding areas to seize land from CO2 pipelines. The CO2 capture project in Louisiana faces serious local opposition. And the regional green hydrogen hub will definitely object.

As Trump’s funding cuts and escalates local opposition to renewable energy, 2025 may be the beginning of the end of the U.S. green energy transition.

Steve Goreham is a spokesperson for Energy, Environment and Public Policy and the author of the best-selling book Green Decomposition: Energy Failure to be Renewed.

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