Millington solar farm voted down by Shelby County Commission, lawsuit could follow

A proposed solar farm that was slated to occupy about 600 acres of land in Millington was denied by the Shelby County Board of Commissioners Monday evening, amid fervent opposition from residents.

The Graceland Solar Project planned to send the majority of the power generated to a Meta Platforms Inc. data center in Gallatin, Tennessee and the rest will also be sold to the Tennessee Valley Authority. Residents have been active at Shelby County Board of Commissioners meetings and Division of Planning and Development meetings pleading with local officials to put an end to the planned project.

Shelby County's moratorium on solar panels is part of a nationwide trend of cities and counties placing bans, moratoriums and construction impediments to block the construction of green energy sources, such as solar and wind.

Commissioners Erika Sugarmon, David Bradford Jr., Shante Avant, Henri Brooks and Mickell Lowery voted in favor of the solar project. Commissioners Amber Mills, Edmund Ford Jr., Mick Wright and Britney Thornton voted against it.

Commissioners Charlie Caswell and Miska Clay Bibbs abstained from the vote, and Commissioner Brandon Morrison recused herself due to her family having an interest in solar panels in another county. Commissioner Michael Whaley was not present at Monday's meeting.

The resolution needed seven votes in favor in order to pass Monday night.

The neighbors' concerns ranged from runoff that could cause erosion to the land, RWE's lack of concern for wildlife in the area, and chiefly, that the solar panels will be an eyesore in their rural neighborhood plummeting home values.

In commission Monday evening residents stood in opposition to the potential project, while its supporters argued that a flurry of conditions would provide additional oversight on the solar project, and stopgaps for the county to remove the panels if the company were to file bankruptcy.

Environmental advocates argued in favor of the solar panels as a necessity to displace the prevalence of fossil fuels and to fight climate change.

Sarah Houston, the executive director of Protect Our Aquifer, focused on the industrial zoning that South Memphis communities face with a fossil fuel plant polluting those neighborhoods. According to Houston, large-scale solar would help mitigate the need for that.

Houston did suggest to the commission that one ground well monitor be installed to keep tabs on the water on a regular basis.

A nationwide analysis by USA TODAY shows local governments are banning green energy projects faster than they’re building them.

At least 15% of counties in the U.S. have effectively halted new utility-scale wind, solar, or both, USA TODAY found. These limits come through outright bans, moratoriums, construction impediments and other conditions that make green energy difficult to build.

The Graceland Solar Project is part of TVA’s Green Invest partnership with RWE and Meta. The 150-megawatt solar facility will allocate 100 megawatts to Meta for use at its data center in Gallatin. The total megawatts produced are equivalent to powering approximately 24,000 households, McNeely said. The other 40 megawatts will be used for redundancy within TVA’s system.

Though the solar project said they plan to place solar panels on about 600 acres of land, but has acquired over 1,500 acres for the project.

Though the resolution to allow the solar farm to be built was denied, an attorney Monday night said that the company could sue the county to reverse the commission's decision. Should the company win that lawsuit, the county attorney said the conditions providing additional oversight would be removed.

After learning of that, Ford asked the crowd to raise their hands if they were against the item, even with the conditions. Almost all of the spectators raised their hands. Ford then asked if residents were willing to risk losing in court to the solar company and having the solar farm built without the conditions. A nearly identical number of residents raised their hands.

Avant, immediately before the vote, said the potential for losing the conditions would have a far more negative impact compared to approving the solar farm with the conditions in place.

$2.2 million boiler replacement for 201 Poplar passes

An emergency purchase of a replacement boiler system for the jail kitchen at 201 Poplar also went before Shelby County Commissioners during Monday's meeting. Support Services Administrator Nycole Alston said during committee meetings last week that the jail is currently using a temporary boiler while the old one is replaced.

The replacement comes with a price tag of over $2.2 million and was approved by the purchasing department because it was justified as an emergency need. The boiler system that was replaced provided hot water to inmates in the jail, and Alston said the replacement was needed to address "public health."

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Sugarmon questioned the nature of the emergency purchase during committee meetings because of the timeline. The boiler system "experienced failure and a major disruption," in April but the emergency purchase was ordered in October.

The emergency request was passed in a unanimous 10-0 vote Monday evening. Ford was in the commission chambers, but not at his seat to vote.

Criminal Court Clerk lobbies for more positions, commission acquiesces

Shelby County Criminal Court Clerk Heidi Kuhn came before the commission to ask for three additional full-time positions to address the backlog of cases. Kuhn said her ask would aid in addressing crime in the community as the criminal court does not currently have the staff it needs to do its work properly.

"You are all aware that we have 10 Criminal Courts and we have a backlog of cases," Kuhn said. "And unfortunately, we need two clerks per courtroom which we currently do not have."

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Kuhn asked for a budget amendment of $172,492 to allow her to add three full-time positions. The positions would be a deputy court clerk, principal court clerk and a supervisor.

Shelby County Chief Administrative Officer Harold Collins said during committee that there are currently six open positions in the office now, but Kuhn said that all of those positions are currently in the process of being filled. Three of those vacancies, Kuhn said Monday, would be filled by March 16, and the office is interviewing candidates for the remaining three vacancies.

"We need all of those positions, these are the positions that we need on top of what already have," Kuhn said.

The money for the additional positions would come from the general fund and passed with 10 yes votes and 1 abstention Monday evening. Whaley was absent from the meeting, and Commissioner Britney Thornton abstained from the vote.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Shelby County Commission votes down Millington solar farm