Carroll County bans new commercial wind and solar energy projects 

With a unanimous vote Tuesday night, Carroll County put a moratorium on the construction of new commercial wind and solar energy projects.

The vote follows an unsuccessful attempt last year by the Carroll County Quorum Court to ban such projects. (Quorum courts are the elected governing bodies for Arkansas counties.)

Carroll County’s moratorium comes just a few months after nearby Madison County put a similar hold on renewable energy projects into effect.

Much of the opposition came from concerns that wind turbines could break down and damage surrounding property, and that construction will require some deforestation and could contaminate or otherwise disrupt water sources. Many were also concerned about potential impacts to wildlife, including protected species like the bald eagle. And like Usrey, many people were concerned about the changing landscape in their small county.

Carroll County’s wind and solar opponents are focused on the Nimbus Wind Project by renewable energy company Scout Clean Energy. The company has been at work on the project for years, and the county government cannot interfere with the contracts that have already been signed.

Caroline Rogers, who formed a group called Stop Wind Farms AR, was elected to the Quorum Court last November. She unseated long-time legislator John Howerton on a platform against Nimbus and any future projects.

None of the justices of the peace, the name for elected county leaders, spoke against the wind and solar ban, and debate was limited before the vote. The comments of retiring Quorum Court member Jack Deaton seemed to capture a common sentiment.

“We cannot interfere with already signed contracts and that’s why we haven’t been able to stop them [Nimbus Wind Farm],” Deaton said. “They blindsided us and got this thing going and we can’t put a stop to this and they’ll build 30, but after those 30 they are done. Our moratorium will be stopping things at that time for five years and that will give us all a look at this thing … . This will give everybody a chance to step back and look at this thing. Everyone thinks we should stop this thing dead in the water but we can’t legally do it and that’s all I’ve got to say.”

The moratorium would be in effect for five years after the Nimbus project begins producing electricity. The project is currently only in the earliest stages of construction.

With Tuesday’s vote, the Nimbus project cannot be expanded unless the moratorium is lifted or until five years pass after their initial project is completed and producing electricity. Nimbus will sell electricity to Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), a transmission servicer supplying power to several states and parts of Canada.

During the hearing, one farmer stood up to shout at Rogers and another prominent anti-wind activist Richard Williams, for allegedly trespassing on his land, showing how controversial and divisive the wind energy project has become in the small community. Carroll County has just over 28,000 residents according to the 2020 census, and the county seat of Berryville, close to the wind project, has close to 6,000 people.

Before the meeting Tuesday, Rogers told the Arkansas Times that other companies were looking to buy up leases and land in the county to start more wind projects. She said the moratorium was one of the only things the county could do, pausing projects while county officials decide the best way to regulate or proceed with future projects.

A few residents joined Scout Clean Energy representative Jack Barker to speak against the moratorium, arguing that the ban would tell companies that Carroll County is not open for business.

“There is all this misinformation about the mountain being covered in wind turbines and that is absolutely false, our project is 30 turbines,” Barker said. “If you started leasing here tomorrow, it would take you a year to get your ground leased, then you would have to go through an interconnection application which would take you five years, and then add in two years for construction. Keep Carroll County open for business for companies that want to make a $10 million or $100 million investment. Changing the rules mid-game with this moratorium will send the message that Carroll County is closed.”

Barker invited the county legislators to come tour the property and watch construction at a later date, as long as they aren’t participating in legal action against the company. He also said that he hasn’t seen any other company trying to lease land for commercial solar or wind in the county.

Nimbus supporters argued that the company and others were bringing important economic and energy opportunities that feed economic growth and increase the tax base for things like schools and local government.

The moratorium in Carroll County follows a hearing on a bill that would establish a regulatory framework for future wind energy projects by Sen. Bart Hester (R-Cave Springs) in the state Legislature. Hester’s bill was turned down by a legislative committee Tuesday, but it would give local governments more authority to further regulate or ban incoming wind projects. The bill would also set stringent state requirements for wind energy developers. Despite what some wind opponents say, parts of Carroll County does have excellent wind speeds at altitudes higher than 80 meters above surface level, according to data from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in the U.S. Department of Energy.

Scout Clean Energy, which is based in Colorado, struck up a legal agreement last September with Carroll County Judge David Writer to allow them to develop County Road 905 to bring in and construct 30 wind turbines that would generate approximately 180 megawatts of energy and offset 540,000 tons of carbon emissions. The company is also working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on a habitat conservation plan to limit the projects impact on bird populations like eagles.

County Road 905, stretching miles and miles through rugged Ozark mountain hill terrain, is at the center of the conflict between locals like Rogers and the company. Scout Clean Energy has been doing massive construction on the road as they move toward constructing the 500- to 600-foot turbines. And along with the intense political opposition, the company is also facing a serious legal challenge from residents.

Rogers and others who own property along the county road are suing both the county and the company, alleging that the company and the judge did not have a right to enter into the agreement for the company to alter public roads and keep the county on the hook for the cost of some of the improvements and maintenance. She said their goal is to convince the courts to nullify any agreements between Carroll County and the company, effectively kicking the company off the county road and halting construction.

Rogers said her small property on County Road 905 would be nearly surrounded by 600 foot tall wind turbines when the company is done with construction. A map of the construction by MasTec, the engineering firm that Scout Clean Energy hired to do the construction, shows that about 10 turbines will surround her property if the project comes to fruition according to plan.

Locals are also concerned about how the turbines could affect the porous “karst” landscape their properties are on, and potential impacts to limited water resources in their rural area. Much of the Boston mountains and Ozark mountains, which cover Carroll County, have karst bedrock which produces caves, springs, and sinkholes and ensures rain and water in the area moves around very easily. Rogers gets her water from a spring on her property, not from a public water system, so she worries that intensive construction could damage or destroy that spring.

Toward the end of the meeting, Sen. Bryan King (R-Green Forest) explained his proposed legislation, Senate Bill 452, which would ensure wind companies tell landowners they contract with about their maintenance plans for the operations.

King said he supported the moratorium passed by the county government and came back north from the legislative session in Little Rock to see how the issue played out. On Friday after the vote, Scout Clean Energy gave a statement on the new moratorium to the Arkansas Times.

“While we do not agree with the need for a moratorium, we respect the County’s decision,” vice president of development Mark Wengierski said. “We are confident that while the moratorium is in place, the community will have a chance to witness all the positive impacts that the Nimbus Wind Farm brings to the local economy.”