Idaho county chair seeks to overturn 2024 renewable energy ban
Jeff Hough, now leading Bannock County's commission, is pushing to reverse a solar and wind moratorium he opposed.
What to know
- Bannock County banned solar and wind development in March 2024, but the dissenting commissioner, Jeff Hough, is now chair and pushing to reverse it this fall.
- Nearly one in four US counties now have clean energy bans or moratoriums, up from 15 percent in 2023, but Bannock County's reversal would signal openness to development.
- Hough argues renewables would generate tax revenue and economic development for a rural county losing population and facing agricultural strain from drought.
- Idaho Power projects 26 percent electricity demand growth by 2030, and Bannock County sits near the critical Populus substation, making it strategically valuable for new generation.
Jeff Hough Bannock County Commission ChairAaron Menenberg Idaho policy manager, Renewable NorthwestIdaho Power State's largest utility
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Hough prepares to vote on ordinance allowing solar, wind, and nuclear development
This fall, Hough and the other two commissioners are set to vote on an ordinance with new language that would permit solar, wind, and nuclear energy development in Bannock County. The vote represents a test case for whether a rural community can reverse course on clean energy bans.
“We cannot deny the entire county the opportunity to exercise their property rights. That goes against the principles this country was founded on.”
— Jeff Hough, Bannock County Commissioner (later Chair) · source -
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This includes the Republican commissioner who instigated the moratorium.
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Can this community revisit its assumptions about the costs and benefits of clean energy and decide to welcome development it once swore off?
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background
Hough becomes chair of Bannock County commission — Following the March 2024 ban vote, Jeff Hough assumed the chairmanship of the county commission and began working to overturn the ordinance.
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background
Bannock County commissioners ban solar and wind development — The three-person Bannock County commission voted 2–1 to pass an ordinance banning utility-scale solar and wind development. Republican commissioner Jeff Hough was the sole dissenter, arguing the ban violated property rights and American founding ideals.