Governors' Wind Energy Coalition

Two separate blows to renewable energy measures in Ohio have put Gov. John Kasich on the defensive over his green energy record.

Kasich recently signed Senate Bill 310 into law, freezing renewable energy standard increases for two years. Another bill has placed setback restrictions on wind turbines.

But Kasich said he was fighting worse alternatives from the state Legislature’s Republicans.

“I spent more time and more effort making sure that we have a bill that fit Ohio, that will not bankrupt consumers or hurt jobs, but something that’s still forward-looking on renewables,” he said this week at an event for local chambers of commerce.

Kasich said the wind turbine restrictions are simply a matter of respecting private property.

“Private property rights are important. People choose to live somewhere. You just don’t go in there and disrupt their life,” he said.

Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, Kasich’s Democratic challenger for governor in November, has called for the repeal of S.B. 310 (Darrel Rowland, Columbus Dispatch, July 16)