Rural resistance to hosting utility-scale clean energy projects has garnered attention as the urgency for a decarbonized grid intensifies. Measures ranging from preemption to community benefits have gained appeal as avenues to overcome or defuse that resistance. This Article argues that alternatives to resistance-neutralizing measures should be taken more seriously because rural opposition to hosting large clean energy projects is both rational and justified. Internal colony theory, or the idea that disadvantaged regions are sacrificed to benefit privileged places, sheds light on why rural resistance persists, even when ample community benefits are offered. While commentary often dismisses rural resisters as selfish or uninformed, internal colony theory suggests that they may be resisting corporate and urban domination as much as they are resisting clean energy infrastructure itself. The company-community-consumer triad remains underappreciated in these dynamics. As in the fossil fuel era, renewable energy deployment is characterized by profit-motivated, sometimes predatory companies targeting small localities, pitting locals against each other, and pursuing opaque processes that privilege local elites, all in the name of benefiting consumers in wealthier, distant metropolises. These internal-colonial dynamics are “extractive,” even if resources are not extracted from the ground. From an energy justice standpoint, it is unclear why coercing or enticing rural populations to submit to these private forces for mostly distant beneficiaries is the right path. Better alternatives exist to addressing rural resistance than domination through preemption or the often meager and uncertain compensation of community benefits. Small-scale projects and local ownership eliminate the problems in the company-community-consumer structure. Fair share mandates establishing that population centers must provide their own resources are similarly anti-extractive. Liberating the internal energy colony by counteracting corporate and urban domination can serve as a pathway to a more just and resilient energy system for all.