Prominent long-time banker John Fuller Cross, chairman of the board of CS Bank, often sees wind turbines on his trips west where he vacations in Wyoming. He said in an interview on Monday that he greatly dislikes the idea of Scout Clean Energy’s proposal to build a $300-million Nimbus Wind Facility with 43 turbines near Green Forest.
“Put me down as a big ‘No’,” Cross said. “We’ve got thousands of acres in southern Carroll County and there will never be a windmill on our property. Scout is in it for the money. You always want to follow the money. I chose to live here for the natural beauty, and I’m surprised at the people who have signed leases for this. The windmills are an eyesore. They are going to destroy property values.”
Cross said he has no problem with them on the Plains with wide open spaces and lots of wind. But he doesn’t think they belong in the Ozarks.
“The folks who signed up for them will regret it,” Cross said. “Those things are so ugly. I think they are a danger for wildlife. I stayed here for natural beauty and to restore this town and this bank and was able to do that. I know a lot of other people who came here for the natural beauty.
“People didn’t settle here to look at wind farms. And when the people who have these on their property go to sell their house or farm, they aren’t going to be able to sell it. I’ve appraised a lot of real estate in my sixty-seven years in this bank and can tell you this will devalue their properties. I’m just really sad it is coming into Carroll County.”
Scout has proposed wind farms in other areas of the country such as Horse Heaven Hills in Benton County, Wash., where the project calling for more than 200 wind turbines was stopped because of public opposition.
“They have been stopped in most places, and you can see why,” Cross said. “I feel sorry for the people who got the leases because if this goes through, I think they will regret it.”