How Communities Benefit
Rural Character
Erik H. – IBEW Business Manager
The Facts
Jobs that keep families in town.
Renewable energy means jobs. Whether its working directly on-site or in the hundreds of jobs required to support construction, renewable energy projects boost the local economy and support families involved in the trades, truck driving, restaurants, hotels, and much more.
Boosting local businesses.
An influx of workers can be a boon for local businesses as workers spend locally on personal goods, food, and entertainment. In the longer-term, a consistent on-site workforce means more people living and working in the area that provide revenue for local businesses.
Keeping farmers and landowners solvent.
Land leases for renewable energy projects keep families on their generational property, helping farmers pay the bills, and private landowners preserve lands used for hunting, agriculture, and recreation.
Helping rural towns thrive.
Tax revenues and specific agreements between communities and developers have the ability to revitalize downtowns, fund community services, and enhance schools, libraries, and public resources so community members
Case Study
Honoring Our Past, Powering Our Future
I grew up just a few miles from where a new solar project could be built today. I spent my childhood working on a dairy farm outside Canton, Ohio, where the values of hard work, stewardship, and community meant everything.
Those values are still what drive me.
Farming taught me the importance of reliability. When we lost power in a storm, it brought everything on the farm to a standstill. That is why energy matters to me today—not just as an electrician, but as someone who understands how much rural communities depend on stability.
I believe solar energy can help power that stability. It gives us a way to meet the growing demand for electricity without sacrificing who we are. Projects like this can create good, local jobs that allow people to work near home, strengthen our economy, and keep rural families together.
Solar also offers farmers a way to hold onto their land. By leasing a portion of their property, they can earn income that helps them continue farming for the next generation. Instead of seeing farmland sold off for subdivisions or big box stores, we have a chance to preserve what makes our communities strong.
This is not about changing who we are. It is about honoring our past while investing in our future. Rural communities like ours have always led through innovation and hard work. Solar energy is one more way we can keep leading, and keep thriving, for generations to come.
Erik H. – IBEW Business Manager
“Projects like this can create good, local jobs that allow people to work near home, strengthen our economy, and keep rural families together.”
PYC & Rural Character
What We’re Doing
- Helping renewable energy projects source local, union labor that directly supports jobs in our communities.
- Imparting best practices to project developers on how to listen and respond to community feedback to maximize local benefits.
- Promoting projects that will provide benefits behind tax revenues to local towns and counties.