Need for wind turbines in Carroll County challenged

In 2019 Scout Clean Energy based in Boulder, Colo., announced what would be the first large-scale wind generation operation in Arkansas, a facility the company said would produce 180 megawatts (MW) of power and employ 200 people during development. The company has constructed test sites in a rural area of Carroll County near Green Forest.

“The 180 MW Nimbus project is estimated to expand over approximately 9,000 acres of rural Arkansas hill country,” the company’s website states. “Nimbus could potentially be the first wind project in Arkansas.”

Recently, Lee Parks, a land agent for Scout Clean Energy based in Boulder has been in the area trying to purchase leases from landowners, including ones that give permission for land to be used for roads needed to get huge wind turbines and towers to mountain tops. Some owners have signed leases and are reportedly happy at being able to receive compensation for use of their land.

Some property owners in the route to the wind turbine sites are opposed to the project.

Former Carroll County Judge Richard Williams, who lives on a road that would be impacted, CR 905, sees a number of flaws with the proposal. Williams points to information on the company’s website that indicates the top priorities for selecting a site for wind generation.

“The first consideration is ideal wind conditions,” Williams said. “Everything I have read says Arkansas has no ideal wind conditions, period. And where we are at, wind conditions are the least ideal of the three counties where Scout Clean Energy says it wants to put the windmills.”

The second consideration is favorable local energy policy. Williams said he isn’t aware of any energy policy in Carroll County.

He said in order for Scout to have a place to sell the energy, they would need either a very large new development using a huge amount of electricity, or large high-voltage transmission lines going long distances to areas that use more electricity.

Jeff Hilton, interim executive director of Arkansas Public Service Commission (APSC), said any utility that wanted to purchase more than 50 megawatts of power from a new facility would require a Certificate of Environmental Capability and Public Need. Hilton said if transmission lines were needed, a CeCPN would also be required that would take into account whether the project is needed, and the environmental impact. Landowners whose property would be used for the transmission lines or windmills would have to be notified.

“A lot of things go into it,” Hilton said. “It is not a simple process. There are quite a few hoops for a company to jump through. It is a positive thing to have wind generation, but whether that is the right facility and place remains to be seen. I am not aware of any filings made with regard to Scout Clean Energy. The minute they connect to a utility, permission would be needed from the APSC.”

Williams questions who will be purchasing the electricity once it is generated.

In 2019, a Scout spokesman told this reporter that the company hopes to use the project to answer a Request for Proposals from Entergy Arkansas, which is seeking to add 500 megawatts of green power in Arkansas by 2026.

The third Scout requirement for siting a facility is cooperative landowners. While some in the area are in favor of it, Williams and others in his neighborhood are opposed to the project in the karst area where disturbance of the ground to build large concrete foundations for the tall towers used for wind generators could disrupt springs, wells and caves.

“The fourth condition is good power transmission, which they don’t have,” Williams said. “How do they get this power to where it is needed?”

An article on the website EnergyCentral.com regarding a proposed Scout project in South Central Washington said that wind turbine height proposed there would be up to 496 feet. “Some could tower 671 feet, taller than the Space Needle,” the article said.

The article reported the project had stiff opposition from residents, and the Benton County Commission in Washington State voted unanimously against it. A Scout spokesman responded in that article that there had been a lot of misinformation about their project proposed in Washington State, and about wind energy in general.

There have been no community meetings about the Nimbus project in Carroll County, and Williams is concerned that former County Judge Sam Barr gave Scout Clean Energy permission to widen, straighten and fill in dips in the country roads that would be used to transport the turbines and wind blades. Williams is not aware of any discussion of this in the quorum court or any other public forum.

“I’m hearing the blades would be a 60-foot minimum and up to 100-plus feet,” Williams said. “There is a 90-degree turn on CR 905 on the edge of my property, and there is no way a 60-foot blade could go around that. I will not give permission for a new road to go through my land.”

Williams said the company isn’t being transparent about the project. He is concerned about noise, lights and each wind turbine using 80 gallons of oil per day.

“Where does that oil go?” Williams asks. “Here a lot of people use springs for their water source. If they go in and disturb or pollute a spring or well, it can cost $30,000 to $50,000 to drill a new well here. Why take a chance on destroying the quality of something like water that is so vital to everyone? Water travels underground through fissures in the rock in karst terrain. Disruption can ruin someone’s well or spring miles away.”

Williams checked with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality regarding stormwater construction permits as there would be runoff from sites and roadbuilding. He said he was told that while there are laws regarding stormwater runoff from sites of more than five acres, compliance is largely voluntary.

Williams also said according to maps that estimate average wind velocity, Carroll has the least wind of the counties the project is planned to cover, which include Boone, Marion and Baxter.

“Why are they starting in Carroll County when it is the worst for return on investment?” Williams asked. “Why not build first in Boone, Marion or Baxter counties that all have higher velocities of wind than Carroll County? The flashing lights all night and noise from these could disturb not just people who live here, but wildlife. And I question how safe it is to put these massively heavy turbines on karst terrain where there could be sinkholes. I have twice had an entire section of land on either side of my valley that dropped and slid down.”

Scout Clean Energy’s website states it has financed more than $1.2 billion in clean energy projects across the U.S. through 2021.

Editor’s note: A Scout Clean Energy representative has agreed to an interview next week. Landowners in the area in favor or opposed to this project are encouraged to contact this reporter, (479) 253-6963.