Proposed wind farm rezoning recommended by Elm Springs planning commission

A proposed wind farm planned for a 311-acre tract on the west side of Elm Springs in Washington County moved a step closer to reality Monday (Nov. 9) but is still months away from any construction, according to a property owner.

The city’s planning commission unanimously approved a recommendation to the city council to rezone the property from agriculture to industrial during its meeting Monday. The recommendation goes to the council at its regular meeting next Monday (Nov. 16). The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. The council approved the annexation of the 311 acres in October and is now one of the last hurdles for the wind farm construction.

However, a group opposing the wind farm continues circulating a petition to ask the Washington County Election Commission for a public election to vote on the proposed annexation, according to the Jonathon Hamby, organizer of “Stop the Elm Springs Wind Farm.”

If the council approves the rezoning next week, the project then goes back to the planning commission as a large-scale development, which will be a review of all the construction, and other plans for the property. The issuance of a building permit would come after approval of the large-scale development. Cody Fell, a partner with Elite Energy, owners of the property, said construction is still months away.

Dragonfly Industries International, a company based in Frisco, Texas,  wants to build an 80-megawatt farm on the land. The plan is to install two enclosed turbines that resemble a jet engine on each 150-foot pole across the property. The turbines are said to be simpler, quieter and more efficient than existing turbines seen in areas like western Oklahoma or Kansas.

The turbine designer met with local residents last March, explaining the turbines as a redundant system with three enclosed generators that compress the air as it passes through by a 12:1 ratio. As an example wind that enters the turbine at 17 miles per hour will be accelerated to 32 miles per hour, to 37 miles per hour and to 47 miles as it passes through and comes out the other end to generate even more electricity. The turbines would rotate to follow the direction of the wind.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, Hamby said his concerns focus on the health and safety of living near the farm, the impact the wind farm could have on property values, and the impact on wildlife, such as deer and bald eagles, which are seen frequently in the area. Others in the audience of more than 50 local residences spoke of concerns that focused on the beauty and peacefulness of the rural area where the farm is planned. The tract is located off Kenneth Price Road. Several, like Frieda Rogers, said they moved to that area because of its beauty. Rogers said she has lived there for 30 years.

Fell said a buffer zone would be established on the side of the property that adjoins the city limits of neighboring Tontitown. He also said a Bill of Assurance to the city council stating that if development of the wind farm does not begin in five years, the city can return the zoning to agriculture.

In making the motion to recommend the rezoning, Dennis Miller, a planning commission member, said Elite Energy should able to use the property as it wants since it owns the tract. Sarah Downum seconded the motion. Downum suggested the planning commission had an obligation to look ahead and be a part of the growing movement to incorporate green energy.

Mayor Harold Douthit, who has supported the wind farm development since it was first proposed more than a year ago, said 18 million homes in the U.S. are served by wind energy while coal plants are coming under stricter government regulations and nuclear plants are approaching the end of their life cycles.

“We have to do something for the future,” he said.