As Indiana's energy demands soar, more counties block solar, wind projects
In this Dec. 9, 2015 file photo, cattle graze in a pasture against a backdrop of wind turbines which are part of the 155 turbine Smoky Hill Wind Farm near Vesper, Kan. Even if President Donald Trump withdraws U.S. support for the Paris climate change accord, domestic efforts to battle global warming will continue. Dozens of states and many cities have policies intended to reduce emissions of greenhouses gases and deal with the effects of rising temperatures. Even in red states, many consider flood prevention and renewable energy are considered smart business. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
Charlie RiedelIn 2017, an international energy developer began signing land-lease agreements in Miami County to build 75 wind turbines as part of a multi-county development.
Project leaders said the wind farm would produce up to 600 megawatts of electricity — enough to power hundreds of thousands of homes.
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Larry West, a former Miami County commissioner, said losing a 2017 solar-farm project cost the county and local school districts over $7 million in new tax revenue and robbed landowners who signed lease agreements of a lucrative new income source.
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Suzanne Jaworowski, Indiana’s new secretary of energy and natural resources, served in the first Trump administration as a senior advisor on nuclear energy.
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The Wildcat Wind Farm in Tipton County, as seen in 2018.
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