This story is the second in a series about the conflict over solar power in Williamsport, Ohio, reported in partnership with ABC News.
WILLIAMSPORT, Ohio—On a weekday morning in May, Mark Schein drove his truck about a mile up the road and rang the doorbell of Melvin Steck and his son and caretaker Doug Steck. Mark stepped into the kitchen, saw Melvin, who is 101, and let out a joyous, “Hey there.”
Melvin, who is hard of hearing and doesn’t talk much, smiled and offered Mark some peanut M&M’s from a giant-sized bag that was in its usual place in the middle of the table.
Melvin is one of the last of a generation that farmed alongside Mark’s father, and someone who can remember an era when farm families and communities relied on each other as a matter of economic survival.
Melvin Steck, 101, in his kitchen. He has farmed since he was 8, and now lives with his son, Doug, who serves as a live-in caretaker. Credit: Dan Gearino
Of the dozen or so property owners who leased land for the proposed Chipmunk Solar project, only three live on the land, including the Schein and Steck families. The rest of the properties are owned by the family estates of farmers, with out-of-town mailing addresses.
The solar supporters in this room knew they were outnumbered in the community by people who oppose the project, but they remained steadfast in their belief that they should be able to do what they choose with their land. They were counting on lease payments from the project to provide financial stability that would be in contrast to a lifetime living at the mercy of the weather and crop prices.
Mark Schein. Credit: Dan Gearino
Mark, 68, is a retired farmer. Doug, 72, owns a small trucking company. Unlike Mark, Doug is eager to engage with people about the project, including the opponents. This has led to tense moments, like an argument that ended with Doug nose to nose with a solar opponent at a township meeting last year.
“I just want them to use facts,” Doug said. “Don’t embellish. Don’t quote somebody else. Use facts.”
He took a seat at the table. He had a hint of red in his blond mustache, with almost no gray. Like his father, he could pass for a decade or two younger than his age.
And he had an important accessory: his three-ring binder, packed with academic papers, news articles, spreadsheets and handwritten notes from government meetings, about the benefits of solar in general and specifics about the current solar proposal.
He aimed to be the community’s fact-checker, but he had found that some opponents of solar viewed him as self-serving rather than helpful. It was indicative of a broader conflict in rural America over what to believe as …….
Source: https://insideclimatenews.org/news/14082022/ohio-solar-outnumbered/