AG says cities can block wind farms

Arkansas cities and counties may enact wind-farm moratoriums under a law passed this year, according to an opinion issued Tuesday from Attorney General Tim Griffin.

But the validity of moratoriums depends on whether their duration is reasonable, along with other factors, according to the opinion, which was prepared by Assistant Attorney General Justin Hughes and signed by Griffin.

State Rep. Brad Hall, R-Van Buren, had requested the opinion regarding Act 945 of 2025, also known as the Arkansas Wind Energy Development Act. Hall was a lead sponsor of the bill.

Act 945 doesn’t prohibit moratoriums, and there is no time frame for enacting such moratoriums, according to the opinion.

“No state or federal law prohibits or preempts a local unit of government from passing moratoriums on the construction and installation of wind turbines and similar facilities,” Hughes wrote.

Moratoriums are interim zoning measures that halt local approvals for a period of time.

Two Arkansas counties — Carroll and Crawford — have passed five-year moratoriums on wind farms.

That’s too long, according to a letter that JaNan Arnold Thomas, general counsel for the Association of Arkansas Counties Risk Management Services, sent to Carroll County Judge David Writer on May 15.

“A five-year moratorium, as proposed in the ordinance, would be inconsistent with Act 945 and would create concerns of a taking under the Constitution,” she wrote. “The Association of Arkansas Counties, via Chief Counsel Mark Whitmore, has conveyed the foregoing to Carroll County and has specifically advised against the adoption of the proposed ordinance.”

On Wednesday, Whitmore said he had no comment on the issue.

In her letter, Thomas warned Writer that Carroll County could be putting itself at risk.

“If Carroll County adopts the proposed ordinance against the advice of the AAC, and then subsequently receives a lawsuit alleging a violation of the Constitution or state law by the adoption or enforcement of the ordinance, the AACRMF will not provide or secure counsel to defend or indemnify such claim or claims,” she wrote. “The county will be responsible for making other arrangements for an attorney in such case.”

The Carroll County Quorum Court unanimously passed its five-year moratorium May 20.

Crawford County passed a five-year moratorium in July. Boone County has passed an open-ended moratorium, until the quorum court ends it, and shorter wind-farm moratoriums have passed in Crittenden, Madison and Newton counties.

Moratoriums are “temporary and are typically enacted to allow a local unit of government time to study and make informed decisions in response to new land uses, such as wind farms,” according to the opinion.

“The validity of a specific moratorium depends on whether its duration is reasonable, whether the local government acted in good faith and responded promptly to the development issue that necessitated the moratorium, whether it serves a legitimate public purpose and whether it complies with all relevant laws — including those explicitly related to the moratoriums (in this case the Arkansas Wind Energy Development Act) and those governing zoning procedures,” Hughes wrote.

Act 945 authorizes a local unit of government to “adopt local legislation addressing the construction, expansion, operation, or redevelopment of a wind energy facility … if the local legislation is consistent with this subchapter and existing federal and state law.”

“It also enables a local unit of government to pass legislation that is more restrictive than state law,” wrote Hughes.

According to Thomas, Act 945 is sufficiently toothy, so there was “no longer a need” for Carroll County’s moratorium.

“Act 945 will have a very high regulatory impact on windmills in Arkansas and will prevent the proliferation of wind turbines in Arkansas,” she wrote in her letter to Writer. “This law, and the regulations to be adopted by the Public Service Commission, will, in effect, create a statutory and regulatory scheme for windmills which will be administered and enforced by the State of Arkansas and the Public Service Commission. It appropriately carves out leases that preexist.”

The Carroll County ordinance exempts Scout Clean Energy, which began construction in November at its Nimbus Wind Project near Green Forest, but Scout can’t expand beyond its current 30-turbine plans without permission from the quorum court. Those turbines, slated to be completed next year, will be about 600 feet tall.