Brent Fry, his son, Drew Fry, and his mother, Suellen Fry, spoke out in favor of the Nimbus Wind Facility project at a recent public information session sponsored by Scout Clean Energy. The Fry family lives on the south end of the project on CR 920. They have regenerative, pasture-based cattle ranching on their property, including portions leased to Scout Clean Energy. The Frys said they have been in discussion with Scout Clean Energy for six years regarding the Nimbus Wind Facility.
“The tax base increase is quite significant,” Brent Fry said. “It will create a lot of jobs during construction. I think we have to get our energy from green sources and this is a green source. Wind power is not perfect, but I don’t know what alternative energy source is.”
Drew Fry said his eight-month-old son will grow up in the shadow of windmills “and I think that is a good example for him to see every day. We have been having conversations with Scout for years, and they have been patient. We will live right next to it and our concerns about wind turbines have been satisfied. Wind power technology is improving all the time.”
Suellen Fry said Scout has worked diligently to minimize the impacts of the facility on people who live in the area.
A.C. Calvillo has leased his property to Scout and said he thinks the wind facility is an excellent idea. Calvillo, a cattle rancher, said it would be great for Carroll County to be the first wind facility in the state. He said wind power production technology is improving, and this project could show that it is feasible in Arkansas.
Calvillo said he left Oklahoma 30 years ago, and the area where they lived now has a large number of wind turbines. He said he has family members who live near the turbines and have never experienced negative impacts. He had talked with a protester who was concerned about oil leaking from the turbines, and Calvillo asked her if she had driven to the meeting. When she said, “Yes,” he pointed out that vehicles leak oil, too.
“I’m not saying we should contaminate the Earth, but small amounts of oil leak from a lot of things like cars and farm vehicles,” he said. “You do the best you can.”
Scout lease agreements with landowners are confidential. Some opponents question if the lease agreements adequately protect and reimburse landowners, and have questioned if the landowners had the 30-year leases checked out by an attorney. Cavillo said he didn’t need a lawyer to check out the agreement.
“I can read,” Cavillo said. “If people had doubts, they should have it checked out by a lawyer. I personally did not feel like I needed to have it checked.”
Cavillo also disputed people who said that Scout has been secretive about their proposal. Cavillo said he had a 320-ft. tower with a blinking red light on top on his property for years that was used by Scout Clean Energy to test windspeed. He said that tower and light were visible to a large number of neighbors. Cavillo said that the tower was taken down a while ago, and people may have assumed the project had gone away.