County-by-county record of moratoriums, bans, project rejections, and other restrictions on utility-scale clean energy in Ohio — 13 tracked actions, each linked to the source that reported it. See our Ohio clean energy guide for market context, and the methodology for how entries are sourced and labeled.
Canary Media, via Megaproject, reported that the Ohio Supreme Court blocked a permit for the 800-MW Oak Run Solar Project, reversing part of the state siting board's prior approval; the project still has a pathway to completion but its future is uncertain.
Gov. Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 52, letting county commissioners designate restricted areas and veto utility-scale wind and solar projects before developers can apply to the state siting board, as reported by the Ohio Capital Journal.
A 2014 state law more than doubled property-line setbacks for wind turbines, effectively blocking over 3.3 GW of utility-scale wind projects, per a Save Ohio Parks analysis reported by Canary Media.
The Ohio Power Siting Board denied the 300 MW Birch Solar project in Allen and Auglaize counties, citing unanimous local government opposition — the board's first solar denial after 34 straight approvals, per OSU Extension Farm Office.
Urbana Township
RWE filed to withdraw its 116.5 MW solar and 40 MW battery Hillclimber project; the siting board accepted the withdrawal in late June, per WYSO and the Urbana Daily Citizen.
Harmony Township
The board found 'unanimous opposition from each local government entity,' including a Clark County commission opposition resolution, outweighed roughly $1.62M/year in local taxes and about 200 union construction jobs, Signal Ohio reported.
Sunbury
The Columbus Dispatch reported Mayor Joe St. John announced March 25 that Sunbury will consider a moratorium on data center development after weeks of resident opposition to a proposed $2 billion Amazon Data Services campus; duration and council timing were not specified.
Cedarville, Miami and Xenia townships
The siting board denied Vesper Energy's 175 MW Kingwood Solar project citing overwhelming local government opposition; the developer's appeal was argued at the Ohio Supreme Court in March 2025 and remains pending, per Columbia Law's Sabin Center.
In the same SB52 action that restricted solar, Knox County commissioners banned utility-scale wind development in all townships countywide, per Knox Pages.
Commissioners Barry Lester, Drenda Keesee and Bill Pursel voted unanimously under SB52 to prohibit utility-scale solar development in 20 of the county's 22 townships, Knox Pages reported.
Indian Lake area
The developer withdrew its 500 MW, 2,570-acre Grange Solar Grazing Center after siting board staff recommended denial and all five project-area townships, the county commissioners, and state legislators formally opposed it, WYSO reported.
The siting board rejected the $98 million Crossroads Solar project after two Republican lawmakers — including SB52 co-sponsor Sen. Bill Reineke — urged denial; the developer alleged some opposing public comments were fabricated, Signal Ohio reported.
Canary Media reported a ballot initiative to reverse Richland County's ban on wind and solar farms narrowly failed, leaving the county's ban in place.
Spot an error or a missing action? Send a correction. Entries labeled Reported reflect press coverage and have not yet been editor-verified against the underlying record.