An Ohio farmer facing $1 million (£750,000) in medical bills had to sell land and farm machinery from his family farm after local officials blocked a solar energy project on his property. Wayne Greier, a sixth-generation farmer in Mahoning County, Ohio, planned to lease 600 acres of his farmland to a solar development company in 2021. The deal would have paid him $540,000 a year in lease payments, giving him a vital source of money as debt threatened his livelihood.
“It was our saving grace,” Greier told the Associated Press. “It wasn’t a scary picture that everybody likes to paint about solar and the loss of farmland. The deal fell apart after township officials put local restrictions in place under a state law, stopping the renewable energy project from moving forward. Losing the income left Greier unable to keep his full farming operation running. He was forced to sell assets to pay growing debts and satisfy creditors.
Greier’s financial problems began during a serious battle with COVID-19 and other health problems. He spent 40 days in the hospital, had seven abdominal surgeries, and built up $1 million in medical debt, according to Farm Progress.
In 2021, Ohio lawmakers passed Senate Bill 52. This included a 24-row planter, tillage machinery, and a deep ripper. Because Greier’s developer had not finished a formal impact study with the Ohio Power Siting Board before the local ban took effect, the project was stopped.
I was the one that couldn’t provide for my family,” Greier told the Associated Press. The law gave county commissioners and township authorities broad powers to create restricted areas, allowing local officials to block large wind and solar projects on private farmland. Green Township trustees later voted to ban commercial solar and wind projects. “I was the one that was going to lose the sixth-generation farm. The decision caused immediate financial trouble. Facing threats of foreclosure from banks, Greier sold parts of his land and important farm equipment. He also returned leased tractors.