More than 20 people spoke Tuesday evening at the Henderson City-County Planning Commission meeting, many asking for a prohibition of wind energy conversion systems in the county, and if that couldn’t be done, then a 3-year or a 5-year moratorium on wind.
After a more than 3-hour meeting, though, the planning commission voted instead to recommend a 2-year moratorium on any applications or permits for wind energy systems in the county.
The majority of the crowded Fiscal Court courtroom—where the meeting was held instead of its usual spot in the third-floor meeting room of the Municipal Building because a larger crowd was expected—passionately opposed any new renewable energy developments in the county. Many who spoke referenced the thousands of acres of solar fields that surround Robards now, saying they didn’t want other places in the county ruined.
Despite not getting a recommendation of a prohibition or a longer moratorium, wind opponents were happy with the planning commission’s vote.
James Franks, a Toy Anthoston Road resident who has voiced concerns about wind, solar and battery storage projects in many previous meetings, said he was proud that the planning commission stood up for local people and added that he hoped Henderson County Judge-Executive Brad Schneider and the magistrates on the fiscal court took notice.
Shannon Hill, a Bluff City Road resident, said that the recommendation of a 2-year moratorium is not what opponents wanted, but it’s better than the 1-year moratorium fiscal court had approved in July.
“I feel it was a victory,” Hill said of Tuesday night’s outcome.
The issue came before the planning commission after the fiscal court approved a resolution in late July to impose a 1-year moratorium on any new permits or applications for wind energy systems. After that July 22 vote, the fiscal court sent the issue to the planning commission for it to make a recommendation on the resolution.
Now, the planning commission will send its recommendation back to the fiscal court. The planning commission’s recommendation is not binding, according to Tommy Joe Fridy, the planning commission’s attorney. The fiscal court can now vote to approve the recommendation, thus putting in place the 2-year moratorium, or it can scrap the recommendation and start the process anew, he said.
Fiscal court action could occur at its next meeting, which is Sept. 9. For that to happen, though, all the information and testimony would need to be transcribed and sent to county government staff before then, which could be a tall order considering the length of the meeting and number of speakers, said Jennifer Marks, the assistant director of the planning commission.
Though most of the crowd opposed wind energy systems, one spoke in favor. Holly Vincent of Busby Station Road in Robards, said she has signed a land lease with Cordelio Power. She said she didn’t support a moratorium any longer than a year, which is enough to do proper research and write an ordinance to regulate wind energy systems in the county.
Vincent also said that with the amount studies the project must go through, it would be five to seven years before anything came to fruition.
The issue of wind energy in the county, and more specifically giant wind turbines, blew up late spring after the Federal Aviation Administration released information that it was taking public comments about Cordelio’s plan to erect 93 wind turbines in eastern Henderson County, each reaching about 700 feet tall. (Cordelio said the 93 turbine locations submitted to the FAA represent the largest possible footprint of the plan, and not the number they are shooting for, which is 50-70.)
Since the FAA study became public, public sentiment on social media has not been kind to county elected officials with claims being made that the process has not been transparent. Magistrates and Schneider responded that the process had not yet started, and Tuesday’s planning commission was the beginning point for what eventually will lead to a text amendment to the county’s zoning ordinances to regulate wind energy.
After the fiscal court takes action on the planning commission’s recommendation, there are two more public hearings that the planning commission will hold. No date for either has been set.
In the first, the planning commission will hear public comment on the effects of wind energy systems. Experts in the field will also be called to testify then. The planning commission will use these testimonies to craft regulations—in the form of a text amendment to the county zoning ordinance—regarding wind energy systems.
In the second upcoming public hearing, the planning commission will hear comment about that proposed text amendment to the county zoning ordinance regarding wind energy systems. Then based on that testimony, the planning commission could recommend changes to those proposed regulations to the fiscal court.
At Tuesday night’s meeting, comments were supposed to be limited to thoughts on the proposed moratorium or the definitions involving wind energy systems included in the resolution the fiscal court approved in July. Officials said that any testimony that was about the future regulation, including health effects, wildlife impacts and aesthetics, would need to be repeated at the public hearing for gathering information about a text amendment to the ordinance.
People at Tuesday’s meeting, however, couldn’t help letting their thoughts about the wind turbines be known. Often, they spoke about Robards and the magnitude of the solar farms in that area of the county.
Sharon Bumb of Alves Ferry Road said Robards has been destroyed.
“Let’s not destroy the rest of the county,” she said.
Another piece of Tuesday’s meeting mentioned in the definitions of the fiscal court-approved resolution was the meaning of a “Small-Scale WECS.” The definition states it’s a small windmill designed to provide power to a home with a height that does not exceed 50 feet. Some attendees objected to these smaller windmills, saying they’d not known about them from previous meetings and didn’t want any approval without knowing more about them.
At the end of the meeting, Planning Commissioner Gray Hodge made a motion for a 2-year moratorium that would end after its final action, roughly in October of 2027. After it was seconded, Planning Commissioner X.R. Royster moved to amend Hodge’s motion and included the smaller 50-feet windmills in the 2-year moratorium.
Royster’s amendment passed.
Next Hodge tried to amend his original motion, asking that the moratorium’s length be changed from two years to 18 months. That amendment failed.
Finally, the planning commission voted on the original motion for a 2-year moratorium with the attached amendment that also includes a 2-year moratorium on the 50-foot home use windmills. This motion passed 7-2.
Tim Vought, the vice president of development for Cordelio, spoke briefly during the public hearing. He said he looks forward to lengthy process in the development of an ordinance when fact-finding can take place and people can better understand the realities of wind turbines.
After the meeting, he said he couldn’t comment about what Cordelio might do next in their project locally without knowing what the fiscal court ultimately votes to do.
