Wind, solar power face a common foe — creative local governments

We calculated restrictions on wind and solar energy projects by looking at the restrictions states and counties imposed on their development.

Efforts to block wind and solar energy have grown along with advances in the technology, especially since 2021. 

USA TODAY’s analysis found by the end of 2025, 24% of counties nationwide had some impediment to new utility-scale wind and solar energy ‒ up from as few as 15% two years earlier.

That calculation of local rules included outright bans, zoning restrictions, land-use rules or political stonewalls. It also required USA TODAY to set a standard about which regulations were restrictive enough to count as an impediment. 

Here’s what we found, and how we measured it:

In some cases, counties simply ban large renewable energy projects, as part of a backlash to their growing presence. Any county with a ban was counted in our data.