Elizabeth Weise is a national correspondent for USA TODAY based in San Francisco. FYI, it's pronounced like 'geese.'

San Francisco
Joined August 2008
Last year, the number of counties curtailing new solar installations and counties adding their first solar farm was almost equal for the first time. Of the 116 counties restricting or banning solar plants, half did so in 2023 alone.
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At least 15% of counties in the U.S. have effectively halted new utility-scale wind, solar, or both, USA TODAY found. These limits come through outright bans, moratoriums, construction impediments, and other conditions that make building green energy difficult.
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While 178 counties got their first commercial wind-power project in the past decade, nearly 400 counties blocked new wind development in the same period, USA TODAY found. Solar power bans recently hit a similar threshold.
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As climate disasters grow more costly, the U.S. has set a target to reach 100% clean energy by 2035, a goal that depends on building large-scale solar and wind power. But USA TODAY's analysis shows local governments are banning green energy as fast as they’re building it.
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Amid record heat, you might be tempted to turn that air conditioning on high this summer. I give some tips for saving money, while fighting climate change on the 5 Things podcast. omny.fm/shows/usa-today/how-…
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