The North Carolina Court of Appeals has upheld Pender County’s rejection of a 2,300-acre solar farm. An unpublished court opinion Tuesday explained that plaintiff Coastal Pine Solar failed to prove that it complied with local ordinance requirements. To secure a special-use permit for the solar operation, Coastal Pine Solar required “production of competent, substantial, and material evidence demonstrating compliance” with Pender’s unified development ordinance, Judge Michael Stading wrote. “Though Petitioner presented expert testimony, the Board found this testimony inadequate due to the witnesses’ lack of personal knowledge of the specific site conditions,” Stading added.

upervisors in the northern Iowa county of Cerro Gordo have passed an ordinance prohibiting the installation of new utility-scale solar, wind and BESS facilities located on land zoned for agricultural use. The county’s Board of Supervisors (BoS) voted unanimously to pass the ordinance at a 23 December, 2024 meeting, following months of meetings and public hearings. The series of events leading up to the ordinance started in May 2023, when the BoS at Cerro Gordo enacted a 15-month temporary moratorium on the development of any new utility-scale renewable energy projects across the county. The length of the moratorium was in-part chosen to align with completion of the county’s comprehensive plan. Officials decided to instate the moratorium after they became aware of Chicago, Illinois-based developer Ranger Power leasing 3,628 acres of land in the City of Clear Lake to develop a utility-scale solar development. The lease was secured through River City Energy, LLC – an Iowa-registered subsidiary owned by Ranger Power.

Supervisors in the northern Iowa county of Cerro Gordo have passed an ordinance prohibiting the installation of new utility-scale solar, wind and BESS facilities located on land zoned for agricultural use. The county’s Board of Supervisors (BoS) voted unanimously to pass the ordinance at a 23 December, 2024 meeting, following months of meetings and public hearings. The series of events leading up to the ordinance started in May 2023, when the BoS at Cerro Gordo enacted a 15-month temporary moratorium on the development of any new utility-scale renewable energy projects across the county. The length of the moratorium was in-part chosen to align with completion of the county’s comprehensive plan. Officials decided to instate the moratorium after they became aware of Chicago, Illinois-based developer Ranger Power leasing 3,628 acres of land in the City of Clear Lake to develop a utility-scale solar development. The lease was secured through River City Energy, LLC – an Iowa-registered subsidiary owned by Ranger Power.

Supervisors in the northern Iowa county of Cerro Gordo have passed an ordinance prohibiting the installation of new utility-scale solar, wind and BESS facilities located on land zoned for agricultural use. The county’s Board of Supervisors (BoS) voted unanimously to pass the ordinance at a 23 December, 2024 meeting, following months of meetings and public hearings. The series of events leading up to the ordinance started in May 2023, when the BoS at Cerro Gordo enacted a 15-month temporary moratorium on the development of any new utility-scale renewable energy projects across the county. The length of the moratorium was in-part chosen to align with completion of the county’s comprehensive plan. Officials decided to instate the moratorium after they became aware of Chicago, Illinois-based developer Ranger Power leasing 3,628 acres of land in the City of Clear Lake to develop a utility-scale solar development. The lease was secured through River City Energy, LLC – an Iowa-registered subsidiary owned by Ranger Power.

Plans to build an electricity storage station have been rejected by a council after hundreds of people objected. A committee at Buckinghamshire Council voted by a majority of seven to two to throw out proposals for the 500MW storage facility near Granborough, a village between Buckingham and Aylesbury. Statera Energy wanted to store batteries in 518 shipping containers on what would have been a 33-hectare site.

NORTHFIELD — The Planning Board unanimously denied BlueWave Solar’s special permit application for a second proposed solar project on Pine Meadow Road, with members citing a litany of reasons why they believe the project does not fit on the parcel. The decision came after nearly four and a half hours of discussion and deliberation at the fifth public hearing for the project, which proposed a 4,316-panel array within a fenced-in area on Pine Meadow Road, on which Northfield-based Finicky Farm would have also produced hay and organic vegetables...Laying out their reasons for the denial, which will need to be finalized in a document and signed by Jan. 2, Planning Board members said the project poses a flooding hazard as it is in the Connecticut River’s floodplain, would decrease property values by ruining the view and does not align with the agricultural character of Pine Meadow Road because it would “stand out starkly in the rural setting,” among numerous other reasons.

The developers of a proposed solar farm haven’t decided whether to appeal rejection of the plans by the Unity Township zoning hearing board. The board nixed the plans for the site along Charles Houck Road in Unity Township after the developer and township officials clashed on determining if the facility would exceed space restrictions for the site. After at least a dozen hours of testimony spread across four hearing sessions since late June, the board voted 3-2 to deny a special exception needed under township rules for agriculturally-zoned land.

Hawaii plans to remove numerous wind turbines after the implementation of new rules regarding where the state can build these renewable energy structures. The decision has sparked both celebration from locals and concern among officials over how this will impact the state’s clean energy transition. Many living in Hawaii have long argued that wind energy infrastructure is too close to residential areas. Protests during the 2019 installation of turbines on O‘ahu resulted in over 100 arrests. Locals have voiced concerns about noise, shadow flicker, mechanical risks and potential health impacts, including headaches, sleep disruption and stress. In response, the Honolulu City Council recently approved new regulations requiring turbines to be located at least 1.25 miles — or 10 times their height, whichever is greater — from residential, apartment or resort property lines. Previously, the setback was only equal to the height of the turbine. This means turbines currently in violation of the mandate will be decommissioned once their contracts expire. The first set is on track for removal in 2031, and the remainder will likely occur by 2040.

The board put a limit of 20 wind towers in the county but put no limit on the total nameplate production. Doing so, they said, allows future technology to get more energy out of existing infrastructure. But 20 towers may not fit in the county, based on additional setbacks the board put in place. For example, a wind tower must be at least three miles from the corporate limits of any town in the county and they must be a mile from a property line. That limit can shrink to 1,800 feet if the property owner signs a waiver. More than a year of research and discussion ended last week when the Burt County Board of Supervisors approved a new slate of zoning regulations governing wind energy development in the county. On a 6-1 vote, supervisors approved Section 6.03 of the county’s zoning manual. The vote followed more than three hours of discussion that saw the board approving changes to the document as each subsection was read. District 5 Supervisor Jeff Kutchera cast the dissenting vote in approving the overall section, and voted against several of the changes inside it. Among them was the allowable height of a tower. “I haven’t spoken to anybody in my district that wants wind farms,” Kutchera said, “let alone 650-footers.”

The fight against a large-scale solar and battery project in central Victoria is heating up after a local council sided with upset residents and voted to oppose the increasingly controversial Cooba solar farm. Canadian developer Venn Energy wants to build the 500 megawatt (MW) Cooba solar farm and 300 MW battery, duration currently unknown, which would be located 4.5km south of the town of Colbinabbin. Anxiety in the community has been rising all year about the proposal, manifesting in an online petition against it and worries that the 700,000 panels might create a “heat island” effect which could affect neighbouring vineyards. Similar concerns at other projects about “heat island” impacts have been debunked.