From anti-reflexive politicization to anti-reflexive policies: The emergence of renewable exclusion zones in United States environmental policy

Renewable energy investment and development are necessary, if insufficient, parts of any climate policy agenda. Scaling up renewable energy projects to the level needed to impact greenhouse gas emissions, particularly wind and solar projects, takes up large amounts of space. As such, the rural United States may be uniquely positioned to benefit from an energy transition because of its plethora of land well-suited to host large-scale solar and wind operations. But, what if local governments in rural areas enact renewable exclusion zones, functionally banning large-scale renewable energy production within county limits? In this short paper, we focus on the case of Ohio to discuss trends in state and local policy that restrict renewable development, and argue that this represents an emerging tendency in the anti-reflexive movement from politicization ( i.e. , the strategic denial and obstruction of climate science and policy) of climate change to anti-reflexive policies precluding climate mitigation. We also highlight that many rural areas may represent a context of reception conducive for anti-reflexive messaging, an understated obstacle for green energy transitions.