Henry County, OH
Wind and Solar Leasing in Henry County, Ohio
If you're a Henry County landowner who received a wind or solar lease inquiry recently, there's a real chance the project can't legally proceed at utility scale -- since 2023, the county has barred any new wind or solar facility of 50 MW or more anywhere in its unincorporated territory, and commissioners have already shown they'll hold that line even against a specific, named project.
This page covers what's specific to Henry County. For the general explanation, see the national guide.
From 'Alternative Energy Zone' to a countywide restricted area
In May 2021, Henry County's commissioners passed a resolution designating the county an "Alternative Energy Zone" -- one of a handful of Ohio counties to do so around that time. That status didn't last: in September 2023, commissioners voted 2-1 to rescind the 2021 designation entirely and instead adopt a resolution under Ohio's Senate Bill 52 designating the county's whole unincorporated territory a "restricted area," which under state law blocks the Ohio Power Siting Board from certifying any new wind or solar facility capable of 50 MW or more within that area.
The commissioners didn't apply that bar retroactively to everything already in motion: five existing or already-committed projects were explicitly grandfathered, tied to AMP Ohio's Napoleon City program, Tri-County Electric, Campbell Soup Co., and the Holgate and Liberty Center local school districts. Those are generally smaller, distributed-generation-style projects rather than utility-scale wind or solar farms, which is consistent with a restricted-area policy aimed specifically at large-scale development rather than every form of renewable energy in the county.
The policy already faced a real test in 2025 -- and held
The restricted-area designation wasn't just a paper policy. In January 2025 and again in February 2025, Reserve Energy and Brookfield Renewable asked Henry County commissioners to carve out an exception in the northeast corner of the county so their proposed 100 MW Liberty Solar project in Washington Township could move forward under Ohio Power Siting Board review. Commissioners declined to act on the request both times, effectively denying it rather than amending the restricted-area map.
The practical result for that project -- and for any similarly-sized proposal in the county going forward -- is that a developer would need to either redesign the facility below the 50 MW threshold (which shifts it out of Ohio Power Siting Board jurisdiction and into a different, more local regulatory path) or seek some other change to the county's restricted-area resolution, such as convincing a future board of commissioners to amend it or a countywide referendum overturning it. Neither had happened as of this research pass.
What this means if you're a landowner or buyer here
If you're a Henry County landowner and receive a lease inquiry for a large wind or solar facility, ask directly whether the proposed project is designed to stay under the 50 MW threshold, since anything larger currently cannot obtain Ohio Power Siting Board certification anywhere in the county's unincorporated territory under the existing restricted-area resolution. A smaller, sub-50 MW project (like the five already-grandfathered examples) may still be possible, but it will likely go through a different, more local approval process than the state siting board review that larger Ohio wind and solar farms typically use.
A buyer evaluating Henry County land with any renewable-energy angle in mind -- whether hoping to lease it eventually, or simply wanting to understand development risk on nearby parcels -- should check with the Henry County Commissioners for the current, up-to-date status of the restricted-area resolution (since county policy in this area has already changed twice, in 2021 and 2023, and could change again), and with the Henry County Recorder for any existing lease or easement tied to one of the five grandfathered projects that might affect a specific parcel or its neighbors.
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- Henry County commissioners rescind alternate energy zone — Northwest Signal (accessed 2026-09)
- Six Ohio counties (and counting) declare themselves Alternative Energy Zones — Wind Power Engineering (accessed 2026-09)
- Request repeated for exemption for solar field in Washington Township — Northwest Signal (accessed 2026-09)
- Henry commissioners won't make exception for Washington Twp. solar request — Crescent-News (accessed 2026-09)
- HC commissioners reject request for exception for proposed solar field project — Northwest Signal (accessed 2026-09)
- Senate Bill 52 summary — Ohio Power Siting Board (accessed 2026-09)
Last reviewed 2026-09