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Wind Power News: Arkansas
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Wind farm project in Carroll County stirs up opposition
Berryville – An opponent to a wind farm in eastern Carroll County will speak at Tuesday night’s Quorum Court meeting even though there is little county government could do to stop the project, both opponents and a county government official said. Scout Clean Energy of Boulder, Colo., intends to erect wind turbines at various sites among 9,000 acres – about 14 square miles – south of Green Forest and west of Alpena, according to information posted by the company. The completed project would . . . Complete story »
Wind farm fraudsters told to pay $1.1M
FAYETTEVILLE – Two men convicted of defrauding investors in a failed Elm Springs wind farm project and the development of a wind turbine that was never built were sentenced to federal prison and ordered to pay more than $1.1 million in restitution Tuesday. Jody Douglas Davis and Phillip Vincent Ridings were charged with nine counts of wire fraud, aiding and abetting wire fraud, money laundering, and aiding and abetting money laundering. A federal jury found both men guilty on all counts . . . Complete story »
Springdale man sentenced for role in Elm Springs wind farm fraud
FAYETTEVILLE – A Springdale man was sentenced to federal prison Friday after he testified in the fraud trial of two associates related to a failed wind farm project in Elm Springs. Cody Fell, who worked at Dragonfly International for a time, pleaded guilty to federal wire-fraud and tax-evasion charges in December 2018. U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks sentenced Fell to 10 months in federal prison, followed by three years supervised release, and ordered Fell to pay $422,330 restitution. Fell was . . . Complete story »
Wind energy gains ground in Arkansas
One of Arkansas’s biggest utilities is delivering wind power to thousands of homes in the state, and the company says more is on the way. On Friday, Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO) announced the second phase of its North Central Wind Project in northern Oklahoma had started commercial operations. The first phase began distributing electricity in April; the third and final phase is under construction and should be operational in early 2022.* Though the turbines are located out of state, . . . Complete story »
Two Arkansas men found guilty of fraud, money laundering in connection with proposed Elm Springs wind farm
A federal jury convicted two Arkansas men for wire fraud, aiding and abetting wire fraud, money laundering and aiding and abetting money laundering in connection with the development of a wind turbine that was never operational and a proposed wind farm project in Elm Springs that was never constructed. According to a news release from the United States Attorney’s Office Western District of Arkansas, court documents and evidence at that trial showed Jody Douglas Davis, 46, of Searcy, and Phillip . . . Complete story »
Elm Springs wind farm scammers convicted of wire fraud, money laundering
FAYETTEVILLE – A federal jury Friday morning returned all guilty verdicts against two men charged with defrauding investors in a failed Elm Springs wind-farm project and the development of a wind turbine that was never built. Jody Davis and Phillip Vincent Ridings were charged with nine counts of wire fraud, aiding and abetting wire fraud, money laundering, and aiding and abetting money laundering. The men will be sentenced in about four months, after a pre-sentencing report is completed. The jury deliberated . . . Complete story »
Two men convicted in Elm Springs wind farm scam
FAYETTEVILLE – Two men were convicted Friday on all counts for defrauding investors in a failed Elm Springs wind farm project and the development of a wind turbine that was never built. A federal court jury convicted Jody Davis and Phillip Vincent Ridings on multiple counts of wire fraud, aiding and abetting wire fraud, money laundering and aiding and abetting money laundering/ In a closing argument Thursday, Kenneth Elser, deputy U.S. attorney, told jurors the wind farm project, called Dragonfly, was . . . Complete story »
Jury begins deliberations in Fayetteville federal wind farm fraud trial
FAYETTEVILLE – The fate of two men charged with defrauding investors in a failed Elm Springs wind-farm project and the development of a wind turbine that was never built was put in the hands of a federal jury Thursday afternoon. Jody Davis and Phillip Vincent Ridings are charged with counts of wire fraud, aiding and abetting wire fraud, money laundering, and aiding and abetting money laundering. Both men pleaded innocent. In a closing argument Thursday, Kenneth Elser, deputy U.S. attorney, told . . . Complete story »
Trial on failed Elm Springs wind farm heads to jurors
FAYETTEVILLE – Both sides in a trial over a failed wind farm proposed for Elm Springs have finished their closing statements. U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks is expected to send the case to jurors this afternoon. Jody Davis and Phillip Vincent Ridings, both principals in Dragonfly, are charged with multiple counts of wire fraud, aiding and abetting wire fraud, money laundering, and aiding and abetting money laundering. Both men entered not guilty pleas. Dragonfly sought to rezone 312 acres in . . . Complete story »
Fraud, lies were not intentional, defendant tells jurors in federal wind farm trial
FAYETTEVILLE – The CEO of a company that proposed a failed wind farm in Elm Springs said in his federal fraud trial Wednesday that he couldn’t recall several details in the case and that others were to blame for bilking investors. Jody Davis and Phillip Vincent Ridings are charged with multiple counts of wire fraud, aiding and abetting wire fraud, money laundering, and aiding and abetting money laundering. Both men entered innocent pleas. Davis waived his right not to testify and . . . Complete story »
