Locals pushed deep-red Richland County to be the first to nix a wind and solar ban. The close vote suggests bipartisan support for clean energy.
Only 30% of eligible voters turned out to vote. This isn’t unusual in primaries, and is part of why the US system is very broken — primaries tend to determine who will actually serve in a gerrymandered system, and also include other key measures on the ballot, like this one.
I live in the area and was checking out responses to the comments on the social media. One of the locals recommended we should be using nuclear energy instead. I asked him why he thought that was a better option over wind or solar. His response: You don’t have solar and wind power everyday.
As others have said, they think that as solar panels or windmills are installed, that land is unable to be used forever. You can’t use it while the hardware is there and it ruins the ground for future generations. And when the hardware isn’t of use anymore, there is no way to easily get rid of it.
Sounds like they think renewables are like oil, and oil isn’t oil
Gotta share pictures of crops under wind turbines and agrivoltaics.