Fox News Takes on ‘Farm Wars’ Solar Attacks

1. Nassau County, New York – Opponents of Equinor’s offshore Empire Wind project are now suing to stop construction after the Trump administration quietly lifted its stop-work order.

• The lawsuit filed in federal court argues that the government violated the Administrative Procedures Act by allowing work to continue without “a factual basis for the reinstatement” or studies ordered by President Trump about the ecological impacts of offshore wind.
• I personally struggle with how to read this lawsuit and would recommend our readers expect the project to continue construction unless a surprise comes in court proceedings. While the order may have facially been lifted “arbitrarily,” it was also put in place arbitrarily – which would’ve been the basis of litigation against the stop-work order had it been filed.

2. Somerset County, Maryland – A referendum campaign in rural Maryland seeks to restrict solar development on farmland.

• Grassroots activists, backed by politicians in Somerset and other rural parts of the state, are fighting a new permitting law enacted in Maryland taking effect next month that pre-empts localities and counties from banning renewable energy.
• It’s a tall order but not impossible for this petition – organized by Farmers Alliance for Rural Maryland – to get onto the ballot. In order for that to happen, the petition needs signatures totalling roughly 3% of the votes cast for governor in the previous election.

3. Tazewell County, Virginia – An Energix solar project is still in the works in this rural county bordering West Virginia, despite a restrictive ordinance.

• The ordinance – which requires a lengthy list of documents – is being followed by Energix, per county officials, who have disclosed the company has not completed its permitting yet but has support.
• I’d still be holding my breath if I were Energix though, as Tazewell County has a 77 risk score in Heatmap Pro’s database, indicating the likelihood of intensifying opposition remains high.

4. Allan County, Indiana – This county, which includes portions of Fort Wayne, will be holding a hearing next week on changing its current solar zoning rules.

• The Allan County Plan Commission on June 12 is holding a hearing on defining what a commercial solar facility is for zoning purposes, after previously restricting development in 2022.
• Any changes to loosen restrictions would be good news for EDP which has been developing its Flatrock Creek solar project in the county for years. Flatrock Creek was part of what inspired a backlash to solar in parts of Allan County in the first place.

5. Madison County, Indiana – Elsewhere in Indiana, Invenergy has abandoned the Lone Oak solar project amidst fervent opposition and mounting legal hurdles.

• Invenergy had tried to litigate the county’s rejection of a permit extension, but the state Supreme Court rejected their appeal.
• The county is deemed extremely high risk by Heatmap Pro, thanks to an opposition intensity score of 93.

6. Adair County, Missouri – This county may soon be home to the largest solar farm in Missouri and is in talks for another project, despite having a high opposition intensity index in the Heatmap Pro database.

• Perhaps to obviate any risks, the county is telling the developer of this new project – Azimuth Renewables – that it wants a lot of assurance before any type of agreement is made for another solar farm, including travel routes and any information about risks that could exist in the near 35-year time-frame of the project. Decommissioning also seems to be a real concern for regulators.

7. Newtown County, Arkansas – A fifth county in Arkansas has now banned wind projects.

• Newtown enacted the ban via an emergency ordinance, a municipal government practice that allows counties to circumvent more formal hearing and comment procedures. It is a temporary restriction though and will require a vote by county regulators by the end of the year to keep in place.
• Arkansas is now set to restrict wind development under state law too, thanks to legislation enacted in April that would require officials create standardized requirements for wind turbines. We hate to say I told you so, but… we told you so.

8. Oklahoma County, Oklahoma – A data center fight is gaining steam as activists on the ground push to block the center on grounds it would result in new renewable energy projects.

• Residents in the town of Luther are angsty about the data center over the footprint it may create for energy generation. Saundra Traywick, a prominent anti-renewables activist in Oklahoma whom we’ve previously written about, is involved in organizing the fight against the project, arguing it would result in new solar and wind farms.
• “These industries will target Oklahoma and then they could also purchase land at skyrocketing prices to put in solar and wind and produce their own energy for these industries … so what that will do is price out farmers,” Traywick told a local Fox affiliate in the area.
• This matters because increasingly in my research, I am finding data center opposition and renewables conflicts go hand-in-glove and that groups fighting data centers essentially inflame anxiety about renewables, too. Maybe I should write about that soon…

9. Bell County, Texas – Fox News is back in our newsletter, this time for platforming the campaign against solar on land suitable for agriculture.

• In a four-minute segment that aired last week, Fox News interviewed a Texas farmer Robert Fleming who has become a mini celebrity in the Texas anti-renewables space. Although Fleming did not target any individual project during the segment – called Farm Wars – the clip has gone viral on Facebook and indicates conservative television networks are beginning to adopt this once-fringe talking point used by activists.
• I’d note this comes after the Trump administration signaled it’ll go after solar on farmland, which we were first to report.

10. Monterey County, California – The Moss Landing battery fire story continues to develop, as PG&E struggles to restart the remaining battery storage facility remaining on site.

• The company tried to restart the facility but discovered a chemical leak, prompting a new closure. This comes mere days before a court hearing that will decide whether ongoing litigation by nearby residents will be heard in state or federal court.
• Anecdotally speaking, I have seen this news kick up fresh angst over battery storage projects in various other communities across the country over social media, and will be tracking the impacts in the days and weeks to come.