Why defending a landowner’s right to participate in renewable energy is about more than energy
By Wayne Greier, Ohio Farmer & Landowner, REFA Board Member
I want to talk about something that matters more than whether you’re for or against wind turbines or solar panels. I want to talk about constitutional freedoms, private property rights, and standing up for American farmers and ranchers.
Property Rights Deserve the Same Protection as Any Other Freedom
First and foremost, we should always stand up and fight for landowners’ rights and their freedom to decide how to legally use their own property, as long as that use does not harm the health, safety, or welfare of others. We do not decide our constitutional freedoms based on somebody else’s subjective opinions.
Some people don’t want to look at wind turbines or solar panels. Some don’t like change, and others believe renewable energy takes away farmland. But since when do we decide someone’s constitutional freedoms based on what their neighbors like or dislike?
We don’t take away someone’s freedom of speech because what they say might offend somebody else. We don’t abolish the Second Amendment because some people don’t like guns or are uncomfortable around them. We don’t take away religious freedoms because someone’s beliefs might make another person uncomfortable. So why should we treat private property rights any differently?
Limits Should Be Based on Facts, Not Personal Opinions
Now, I’m not saying property rights are absolute. There are legitimate concerns involving health, safety, and the welfare of others that government has a responsibility to address. But those decisions should be based on facts, evidence, and measurable impacts, not somebody’s personal opinions about what they want to look at or whether they like change.
We’re talking about protecting a landowner’s right to pursue legal land uses, not giving anyone the right to do whatever they want regardless of the consequences to others.
Our freedoms didn’t come free. Generations of Americans fought, sacrificed, and died to protect them. Those freedoms are worth standing up for, even when doing so isn’t politically convenient.
Why This Matters for Family Farms
The second thing I want to focus on is the American farmer and rancher, especially small family farms struggling just to survive.
Farmers and ranchers operate on razor-thin margins. We’re at the mercy of commodity markets, weather, tariffs, international trade, input costs, and countless other things completely outside our control. One bad growing season, one natural disaster, or one disease outbreak can be enough to put a family farm out of business. And when that happens, we aren’t just losing a business. We may be losing generations of family history, hard work, and sacrifice.
So why in the world would we want to take away an opportunity that could help those families survive?
If a farmer or rancher can generate additional income from a wind turbine or solar project on their own property, why wouldn’t we want to give them that opportunity? That income could be the difference between making another farm payment or losing the farm altogether. It could provide breathing room when commodity prices collapse, the weather doesn’t cooperate, or the cost of farming keeps climbing. It’s a steady source of income that doesn’t depend directly on what the markets, Mother Nature, or another country decides to do.
Landowners Are Not Asking for Handouts
And here’s the part I think people really need to understand. These farmers and ranchers aren’t asking the government for a handout. They’re asking for the freedom to use an investment they already own to help support their families and preserve their farms for the next generation.
Why would we stand in their way?
We should fight for the rights of farmers, ranchers, and landowners to make responsible decisions about the legal use of their own property, as long as those uses do not harm the health, safety, or welfare of others. We should support opportunities that allow them to diversify their income, strengthen their operations, and give their children and grandchildren a fighting chance to continue the family farm.
This Is Not a Partisan Issue
Property rights aren’t Republican or Democrat. Neither is protecting family farms, supporting rural communities, or strengthening American energy independence. People on both sides of the aisle should be able to agree on those things.
You don’t have to convince every person to love wind turbines or solar panels. You just need to explain that protecting someone’s constitutional freedoms and giving American farmers a fighting chance is more important than whether somebody likes looking at a wind turbine.
And nobody should have to apologize for supporting renewable energy. America needs a diverse energy portfolio, and renewable energy plays an important role in that. Supporting wind and solar doesn’t mean you’re against oil, natural gas, coal, or any other energy source. It means you believe in American energy production, American energy independence, and giving American landowners the freedom to participate in those opportunities.
The Principle, Not the Technology
There’s an important distinction between defending a particular energy technology and defending the principles behind a landowner’s decision to participate in it. That’s how I would approach this conversation.
We aren’t just fighting for wind turbines or solar panels. We’re fighting for the people who own the land, the families trying to keep their farms, and the freedoms that make this country what it is.
Wayne Greier is a REFA Board Member and landowner. He farms in Ohio and has firsthand experience navigating renewable energy decisions on his own property.
