It is open season on Carroll County by billion-dollar companies looking for opportunities to reap hundreds of millions in federal production tax credits by building wind turbine facilities to generate electricity, former County Judge E. Richard Williams said. Williams is part of a group actively opposing the proposed $400-million Scout Clean Energy Nimbus Wind Farm that would place 30 turbines up to nearly 700 feet tall on ridge tops near Green Forest. Richards said he recently learned that Enel North America has approached an 800-acre landowner with a proposal to lease the property for a wind generation project between Berryville and Green Forest.
The state of Arkansas is one of only two states in the country without any regulations for wind generation facilities. And the Carroll County Quorum Court (QC) has repeatedly voted against any regulations, such as a moratorium on wind and solar facilities or requiring setbacks from homes
“Since the quorum court has refused to pass regulations to protect our water supplies, health, and property values, it is open season for companies that want to locate wind facilities here,” Williams said. “The landowner who was approached by Enel told them ‘no,’ but their field representative continued pressuring them.”
The Enel website states, “As part of one of the world’s largest renewables players, Enel North America is a clean energy leader working to electrify the economy and build a zero-carbon future. Together with our people, partners, and local communities, we are driving a just, equitable energy transition to 100% clean electricity.”
Williams said he is concerned Scout and Enel will not be the last wind generators looking to profit by locating a facility in Carroll County.
“What other companies might be out there scouting?” Williams asks. “I imagine these wind companies talk to each other and have heard about the lack of regulatory oversight of any type in Carroll County.”
Scout Nimbus opponent Angela Usrey, after spending hours perusing Enel’s website, noted that the company states that they are committed to transparency with the farmers.
“What about transparency with our community?” Usrey said. “Transparency with the community is essential. And when I say ‘our community,’ I mean the Ozarks. This is no longer an isolated wind farm in East Carroll County. This information should put out on a red alert to all residents in the Ozarks. Don’t sign anything without researching and seeking legal counsel.”
Usrey also has other questions:
- How did these multi-billion-dollar mega-companies get vetted to receive federal protection tax credits to build massive industrial scale turbines (up to 698 feet tall according to the FAA website) on the karst terrain of the Ozarks? Through a FOIA request, opponents learned that blasting has not been ruled out in the East Carroll County project.
- How can these companies qualify for federal production tax credits while using non-disclosure agreements with lease holders to keep the local community in the dark? As taxpaying citizens, are these not our tax credits being doled out? Should our community not be able to participate in every step of the process? Where is the transparency?
- The terrain of East Carroll County is perforated, as is much of the Ozarks, with caves, springs and water aquifers. How do these companies propose to keep water aquifers safe given the fragile nature of the karst terrain? And these same caves are home to various species of bats, an issue which needs clarification and study. Are any of the bats endangered?
“Enel is the 59th largest company in the world,” Ursey said. “The simple fact that Enel has been confirmed to have ‘boots on the ground’ in Carroll County is bone chilling. However, their scale will inspire the local counties to work together. We are all drinking from and dependent upon the same water sources. This is a David versus Goliath story and I’m glad to be on the side of the residents of the Ozarks.”
Julie Morton, who has 43 years of experience in the energy industry, is also alarmed at another industrial wind facility project in the works.
“Another wind company that has shown up in Carroll County,” Morton said. “There is a complete dearth of regulations.”
Morton said County Judge David Writer should be concerned because what he is doing with the proposed road use agreement is not normal as far as what is proposed for a private company to do to county roads. “Already there are 48 miles of roads that Scout plans to tear up in this county,” she said. “Is Writer going to give these new guys special treatment, too?”
The county has been in negotiations with Scout Clean Energy for a road use agreement that Scout says would allow the company to improve the roads and require them to make any necessary repairs from the hauling of large turbine components. Writer and the QC have expressed concerns about the legal costs of not signing a road use agreement if the county is sued by a large company with nearly unlimited resources for lawsuits.
Morton said the project would cause major disruptions on those 48 miles of roads for a very long time. She is also concerned that Scout has not applied for permits needed from the Arkansas Highway Department prior to the improved roads being joined to a state highway.
“We have to do something to stop these companies now before they progress anymore,” said Morton. “By the time they are finished, there won’t be anything left of the Ozarks.”
Caroline Rogers, founder, Stop Wind Farms AR, has concerns about how wind farms could impact visits to Carroll County by tourists. Recently it was learned that tourism has outpaced agriculture as the number one economic generator in Arkansas.
There are also two large wind farm projects underway in the Arkansas Delta. While some might argue that the Delta is a better place because it is flat with few residents, Rogers is concerned about potential impacts on duck hunting.
“Stuttgart is known as the duck hunting capital of the world,” Rogers said. “If a large wind farm is built, and the duck population diminishes, there goes their tourism income, followed by the town. The wind farms spread out like spider webs and multiply like rabbits.”
Rogers has spoken with people elsewhere in the country who have been disappointed that the payments to landowners who lease to wind companies, and the tax money promised, don’t always pan out as advertised. She said these large companies commonly challenge the tax assessments and the money is held in escrow for years while the case winds through the court system.
As someone who lives in the area of the proposed Scout Nimbus project, Rogers is particularly concerned with safety. Scout recently announced in the QC that it will go over an emergency response plan with the fire department.
“What neighbor builds a structure on a property so dramatic that they have to have an emergency response plan?” Rogers asks. “The fire department knows how to put out a house fire. They have the equipment, training and materials. They have no training to put out a fire on a structure 700 feet tall. South Carroll County doesn’t even have a tanker truck. You have to let the turbine burn and fall to the ground where it may cause a wildfire. Then it is not your typical fire. Turbine fires include a combination of hydraulic oil, other lubricating oils, fiberglass, metal and electrical components. Why is this company being allowed to risk their neighbors and surrounding areas? The wind company has insurance for their turbines and for the leaseholders’ property. But if it catches on fire and blows a mile down the road, there is no insurance to cover that. Why aren’t they responsible?”
Rogers blames what she considers overly generous federal tax credits for the wind projects. She said there are $1.2 trillion in tax credits for wind and solar in the next ten years. Alternative energy projects are eligible for up to about 30 percent in federal protection tax credits. For a $400-million project, that would mean $120 million of the project would be paid for by U.S. taxpayers.
On Tuesday evening, Enel Business Development Communications Manager Lauren Asmus responded, “Enel does not currently have any active wind development in Carroll County.”