Solar, Wind, Battery & Data Center Opposition: Ohio, Michigan, Washington — June 26, 2026

Ohio state regulators rejected yet another utility-scale solar project this week — the eighth to be killed since 2020 — while data center moratoriums gained momentum in Michigan and Minnesota and battery storage resistance flared from Massachusetts to western Washington. Across at least nine states, communities pushed back against energy and infrastructure projects of nearly every variety, deploying a now-familiar toolkit of public hearings, zoning reviews, setback ordinances, and outright bans.

The breadth of the week's opposition underscored a persistent challenge for developers and policymakers alike: the clean energy transition increasingly runs not through permitting offices or utility boardrooms, but through packed school gymnasiums and contentious county commission meetings.

Solar Siting Battles

Ohio remained the epicenter of solar opposition this week after the Ohio Power Siting Board rejected the Sloopy Solar project in Clark County, making it the eighth solar farm killed by state officials since 2020. The decision came alongside the voluntary withdrawal of the Hillclimber Solar project in neighboring Champaign County, where developers apparently concluded the political headwinds were too strong to continue. As WYSO reported, both projects had been "largely unwelcome in their host communities," reflecting a pattern in western Ohio where rural opposition to large-scale solar has hardened into a reliable political force.

Farther west, residents of Pilot Grove, Missouri, gathered at the local high school to protest a proposed solar farm, though details about the project's developer and size remained limited in initial coverage. In Michigan, the Wexford Joint Planning Commission opened a formal zoning review for a proposed solar project amid strong community opposition and scheduled a public hearing to receive additional input.

In the Town of Trenton, Wisconsin, a local commission paused a proposed solar farm after community members demanded changes and raised objections, opting to gather more information before proceeding. And in Pahrump, Nevada, the proposed Purple Sage Energy solar project drew opposition from residents and stakeholders who cited concerns about wildlife habitat and public land use, a somewhat different set of objections than the farmland preservation arguments that dominate in the Midwest and Great Plains.

Wind Energy Pushback

Wind energy opposition flared in three states this week, with communities reaching for moratoriums and restrictive setback rules to slow development. In Marathon County, Wisconsin, residents packed a meeting to oppose the Hub City Wind Farm, a 38-turbine project proposed for the area. Locals demanded a moratorium on wind development, though county officials said they lacked the legal authority to impose one — a jurisdictional tension that has become increasingly common as communities discover the limits of local control over state-permitted energy projects.

In Williams County, North Dakota, a county commission took a different approach, recommending a setback ordinance that would require future wind turbines to be sited at least one mile from all residences. If adopted, the setback would significantly constrain where turbines could be placed in the county, effectively limiting development without banning it outright.

Meanwhile, in Apache County, Arizona, a packed room of residents appeared before the Board of Supervisors to press for a moratorium on the Black Ridge wind project and related proposals. Water concerns figured prominently in the objections — a reflection of the arid Southwest's distinct resource anxieties compared to the noise and property-value arguments more common in the Midwest.

Data Center Disputes

Data center opposition continued to build this week, with moratoriums emerging as a favored tool for communities seeking to slow the pace of proposals. In Flint, Michigan, the city enacted a one-year moratorium on data center development to review its zoning regulations, prompting neighboring cities and townships across Genesee County to assess whether they should follow suit. The ripple effect illustrated how one municipality's decision can reshape the development landscape across an entire region.

In Carlton County, Minnesota, the county is considering its own moratorium on data centers as residents attended a Google open house in nearby Hermantown seeking information about a proposed facility. The combination of a tech giant's outreach efforts and a county government weighing a development freeze captured the tension between the economic promise of data centers and communities' desire to maintain control over land use and infrastructure planning.

A broader industry analysis published this week by RTO Insider documented how increasing public opposition is measurably slowing data center development nationwide. The report noted that local governments are responding to constituent pressure, with zoning moratoriums and heightened scrutiny becoming common features of the approval landscape — a trend that could have significant implications for the technology sector's aggressive buildout timelines.

Battery Storage Concerns

Battery energy storage systems drew organized resistance on both coasts this week. In western Washington, neighbors across multiple communities are resisting battery storage farm projects, with fears of toxic fires cited as a primary concern. Clean energy advocates and developers warned that the opposition could slow the broader energy transition, but residents remained focused on safety risks and the proximity of large battery installations to homes and schools.

In Covina, California, the proposed Covina Reliability Project battery facility is already driving business relocations and community anxiety ahead of a public hearing on its fate. The situation illustrated how even the anticipation of a controversial project can alter the economic and social fabric of a neighborhood, with small businesses reportedly choosing to leave rather than wait out the uncertainty.

On the East Coast, the Massachusetts Energy Facility Siting Board unanimously approved a tentative plan for a 180 MW battery storage facility proposed by Rhynland Energy in Oakham — despite vocal town opposition. The decision highlighted the tension between state-level energy siting authority and local sentiment, a dynamic that is playing out across the country as states weigh clean energy targets against community resistance.

What to Watch

Wexford County, Michigan: The Wexford Joint Planning Commission has scheduled a public hearing on the proposed solar farm as part of its zoning review. The outcome could set a precedent for how rural Michigan communities handle utility-scale solar proposals. (Cadillac News)
Covina, California: A public hearing on the Covina Reliability Project battery facility is forthcoming, with the community already showing signs of deep division over the project's future. (LA Public Press)
Carlton County, Minnesota: County officials are weighing a formal moratorium on data center development, a decision that could affect Google's plans in the region and signal how smaller communities respond to Big Tech infrastructure proposals. (Pine Journal)

Patterns and Trends

This week's stories reveal several recurring dynamics shaping the energy infrastructure landscape. The moratorium has become the default tool for communities seeking to slow development they feel unprepared to evaluate — applied this week to data centers in Michigan and Minnesota, wind turbines in Wisconsin and Arizona, and under consideration in other jurisdictions. Ohio's rejection of its eighth solar farm since 2020 suggests that state-level siting boards are increasingly responsive to local opposition, even as Massachusetts demonstrated the opposite impulse by overriding town objections to approve a battery project. Across project types, the gap between state energy policy ambitions and community-level acceptance remains one of the most consequential and unresolved tensions in American energy development.