A Rural Idaho County Banned Renewables. It’s Having Second Thoughts.

Bannock County, Idaho banned utility-scale solar and wind development in March 2024 by a 2-1 vote, over the objections of commissioner Jeff Hough, who invoked the Declaration of Independence and property rights to argue against it. Hough is now the commission's chair and has spent his tenure working to reverse the ban, with a vote on a new ordinance allowing solar, wind and nuclear development expected this fall.

The reversal comes as Idaho Power projects electricity demand will grow 26% by 2030, and as neighboring counties report hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax revenue from renewable projects. Bannock County's own ban traces back to Hough's alarm after a 2023 conference where county leaders fretted over the (since-cancelled) Lava Ridge wind project, prompting him to push through a moratorium meant to be temporary.

Nationally, nearly one in four U.S. counties now have some kind of ban or moratorium on clean energy, up from 15% in 2023, with most of those bans in rural areas. Bannock County's about-face, if it happens, would put it against that trend, though local opinion remains split between residents eager to lease land and neighbors who see it as selling out.

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