Residents looking to block an expansion of a huge solar array on East Windsor farmland got a boost Wednesday when the town’s legislative delegation put out a bipartisan statement slamming the proposal as damaging and unwelcome. “The people in the town have spoken clearly and loudly at all levels,” state Sen. Saud Anwar said at the Legislative Office Building. “Our message is clear: Reject this expansion … do not allow our community in East Windsor to be overlooked again.”...Residents and town leaders argue that East Windsor and a few other sparsely populated towns with large quantities of farmland are being forced to carry most of the weight of renewable energy for the state and beyond....More than 1,100 people have signed an online petition against the project, warning “Our town’s rural identity, scenic views, and peaceful neighborhoods are incompatible with large-scale solar development. The proposed expansion would industrialize beloved green space and diminish property values.”

Plans for a set of wind farms in a picturesque West Cork location have been turned down as the proposed development would “seriously detract from the views” in the area, the council has said. Cork County Council has refused planning permission for Gourtloughra Wind Farm Ltd to construct eight wind turbines and associated equipment at Shehy Beg. It also received a submission from Fáilte Ireland, which said the area on the Wild Atlantic Way was a “calling card” and acted as a device to “entice people to the west of Ireland”. In its extensive application documents, Gourtloughra Wind Farm Ltd said it was looking to construct eight wind turbines across an area comprising 8.7 hectares.

Also on May 20, the Crittenden County Quorum Court passed a six-month moratorium banning wind and solar farms.

Also on May 20, the Crittenden County Quorum Court passed a six-month moratorium banning wind and solar farms.

A plan by the Fayetteville Public Works Commission to place a 5-megawatt solar farm off Ramsey Street was stymied on Monday when the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners rejected a rezoning request. The PWC wants to build its fourth solar farm on 45 acres at 430 Carvers Falls Road, near the Zipquest Waterfall & Treetop Adventure Park. Although the City of Fayetteville owns the property, it is just outside the city limit...The land for the proposed solar farm is zoned “PND,” or “planned neighborhood development.” Under that classification, up to 261 homes could be built on the site, but a solar farm is not allowed, according to the county zoning code and documentation attached to the PWC’s request.

The TOWN OF BRIGHTON and TOWN OF EAU PLEINE prevailed in the lawsuit brought against them by Marathon Wind, a subsidiary of EDP, the Portuguese company. In a decision on the case, LaMont Jackson ruled that the towns had the right to enforce their ordinances limiting new wind projects. Specifically, the rule concludes: "Their ordinances do not exceed the authority granted by state statute and by the administrative rules drafted by the Public Service Commission. ln fact, large parts of the ordinances come directly from the Commission's own detailed guidelines. Thus, the legal challenge asserted in the plaintiff's complaint is resolved in the defendants'favor. THEREFORE, lT lS HEREBY ORDERED that the defendants' mo- tions to dismiss are granted. The plaintiff's claims against both defendants are dismissed in their entirety and on the merits." The litigation is yet another example of foreign corporations trying to intimidate small rural towns in the US as part of an effort to force them to take alt-energy projects. For more on the case, see: https://www.centralwinews.com/main/2025/01/07/brighton-eau-pleine-move-to-dismiss-wind-lawsuit/?destination=record-review

If someone is moving to Rembert or Dalzell - two of Sumter's beautiful rural areas - they likely want a peaceful area to reside in, they likely want the environment to thrive and, as was proven at the Sumter City-County Board of Zoning Appeals meeting on Wednesday, what they don't want is a solar farm nearby. The maximum capacity in the city's council chambers is 70, but that capacity quickly filled on the afternoon of May 14. The line to the elevator to council chambers was snaking out Sumter Opera House's back door, and many attendees crowded in the lobby outside the meeting area waiting for their turn to speak out against what would have been a massive solar panel project. The project, officially called White Palmetto Solar, would have been built on more than 1,700 acres of land in Rembert and Dalzell - a majority of which is heavily wooded. The project itself would have spanned about 1,100 of those 1,700 acres. The Texas-based company behind it, Treaty Oak Clean Energy, was leasing the land from three landowners for a 30-year time period to place its solar panels. Now, however, the company has not received the approval required to continue with its development plans after a vote by the board to deny its request to establish the solar energy system. The denial came with celebratory cheers from the large crowd in attendance, who held up signs that protested the project, reading "SOLAR FARM" with a slash through it.

he Will County Board voted 16-5 vote Thursday to reject plans for a solar facility in New Lenox Township that was opposed by New Lenox village officials and nearby homeowners. Soltage proposed two 5-megawatt commercial solar energy facilities on about 75 acres southeast of Haven Avenue and Gougar Road. The village of New Lenox abuts the property to the west and north and objected to the plan. More than 80 residents of the nearby Fieldstone Subdivision signed a petition stating the commercial solar energy facility would negatively impact their property values. They also said the height of the vegetation and the minimal times it would be mowed would be an eyesore and create problems with mosquitoes and rodents. “This proposed solar farm will be extraordinarily close to our homes,” Sandy Wheeler said. “I was involved in preparing the signatures in opposition to this proposed solar farm. Not one resident that I asked to sign the petition denied it.”

Plans to build a lithium battery storage facility in East Devon have been rejected. Clearstone Energy had asked for permission to build and operate the battery energy storage system (BESS) south of Hazelhurst Raymonds Hill in Axminster. However, planners at East Devon District Council rejected the scheme after a three-and-a-half hour debate which saw residents raise concerns about fire risks and pollution. Despite the developer stating its equipment was 100% safe, examples of BESS fires around the country were highlighted as evidence about why the scheme should be refused.

Plans for a solar farm project coming to Sumter County have been halted for now. Sumter’s Board of Zoning Appeals unanimously denied a special exception to zone the White Palmetto Solar Farm on Wednesday. The proposed solar farm would’ve stretched over more than 1700 acres across rural parts of Sumter County. More than 100 people came out before the Sumter City Council Board of Zoning Appeals to express why they didn’t want this solar farm project to come to their community. Many folks are concerned about the environmental impacts the project will pose in rural parts of Sumter County, saying it will hurt wildlife like woodpeckers and wild turkeys that call those areas home.