Since the days of rural electrification, Ohio Farm Bureau has been helping members with information and resources related to energy development. Our new Energy and Utility Issues Resource Guide is a members-only document that provides information about critical energy issues many farm families encounter. This new guide focuses on leases, easements, on-site generation and legal considerations for energy development on privately owned farmland in Ohio.

Millions of acres in Ohio are privately owned farmland, so when it comes to locating infrastructure for utilities such as pipelines, telecommunications, wind, solar and more, the stakes are high. There are also new opportunities for installing on-farm energy generation equipment to help manage costs and generate income.

Subject matter

Whether it’s projects managed by public utilities to other installations brought forward by independent energy service providers, issues related to eminent domain, right of access, land protection, compensation for damages, ingress/egress provisions and on-going complaint resolution procedures are just some of the issues members should be aware of. 

Other topics covered in the guide include:

• Identifying projects and jurisdictional authority.
• Types of legal agreements.
• Oil and gas, pipelines, utility-scale wind, solar and telecommunication leases and easements.

In addition, the guide covers managing energy costs and potential income opportunities through energy choice and aggregation programs, on-site electric generation and interconnection, adopting vehicle fuel and electric vehicle technologies, carbon credit opportunities, geothermal technology and biomass energy development.

The final section of the guide provides insight into the various government entities that oversee energy development and tips for how to engage with them.