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In the Trenches: Alabama Eyes Statewide Solar Moratorium, Fabricated Opposition Uncovered in Ohio, and Battery Storage Resistance Surges in New York

ByThomas Egan
7 min read
In the Trenches: Alabama Eyes Statewide Solar Moratorium, Fabricated Opposition Uncovered in Ohio, and Battery Storage Resistance Surges in New York

An Alabama state senator filed legislation this week that could halt all solar farm construction across the state for a full year — a dramatic escalation born from a single community's revolt against a project that residents say blindsided them. The move in Montgomery comes as an investigation in Ohio revealed that some public comments used to justify opposition to a solar project were allegedly fabricated under false identities, raising unsettling questions about who is truly driving the resistance in some communities. From Virginia to Arizona, from Kansas to upstate New York, the week of March 6–13 delivered a cascade of moratoriums, protests, and regulatory battles across at least nine states.

Solar Siting Battles

The most consequential solar story of the week came out of Alabama, where Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore, filed two bills — SB354 and SB358 — that could impose a one-year moratorium on solar power facility construction statewide. The legislation was a direct response to resident opposition in Stockton, a community in Baldwin County where locals have been organizing since February against a solar farm they say arrived without adequate notice or community input. Albritton announced the bills in a Facebook post, describing them as a way to address what Baldwin County residents called being "blindsided" by the project. If enacted, the moratorium would be among the broadest state-level restrictions on solar development in the country.

In Virginia, a proposed solar farm near Fincastle in Botetourt County drew vocal protests from residents who turned out to oppose the project as it came before county officials. Local coverage from WDBJ7 and WSFA documented the community pushback, which comes as solar development continues to expand across Virginia's rural counties. Details about the project's developer and megawatt capacity were not immediately available, but the opposition reflects a familiar pattern of resistance when large-scale solar facilities are proposed in small, historically agricultural communities.

Farther north, the Town of Hartwick in New York's Otsego County took the procedural step of scheduling a public hearing on a proposed solar moratorium, joining a growing list of New York municipalities seeking to pause renewable energy development while they reassess local land-use regulations. The move comes even as the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office pushed back against similar local efforts, rejecting yet another municipal moratorium on solar and battery storage. The legal analysis from Foley Hoag noted the AG's office has established a clear pattern of overturning these local restrictions, creating a growing tension between state clean energy mandates and municipal desire for local control.

In South Carolina, the fight over the White Palmetto solar project in Sumter County continues to grind through the appeals process. Residents who previously packed a zoning board meeting with protest signs will get another chance to weigh in at public hearings scheduled for March 18 and 25 on TOCE Solar's appeal of the project's earlier regulatory setback.

Perhaps the most unusual solar story of the week emerged from Ohio, where an investigation reported by The Cool Down found that public comments opposing a solar farm were allegedly fabricated and "submitted under false identities, false addresses." The revelation raises pointed questions about the authenticity of organized opposition campaigns and whether outside interests may be manufacturing the appearance of grassroots resistance in some communities. The report did not identify who was responsible for the allegedly fraudulent submissions.

Wind Energy Pushback

Wind energy opposition made headlines in at least three states this week, with the most dramatic action playing out in Oklahoma, where residents and advocates gathered at the State Capitol to protest the rapid expansion of large-scale industrial wind turbines across the state. Oklahoma has been one of the nation's leading wind energy producers, but the Capitol rally signaled growing frustration among rural residents who say the pace and scale of development has outstripped community tolerance.

That sentiment was echoed in Michigan, where Apex Clean Energy — a Virginia-based developer with nearly half a dozen projects in Oklahoma — announced it was abandoning its Montcalm Wind Project after nearly six years of effort. The proposed 50,000-acre wind farm in central Michigan failed to secure sufficient landowner participation, according to the company, though it also faced sustained criticism and opposition from nearby community members. Apex had pitched the project as a way to meet Michigan's growing electricity demand with clean energy while supporting local farmers and diversifying the county economy.

In Montana, Dawson County voters will head to the polls in June to decide on a proposed 250-foot height limit for structures — a measure that, while not explicitly mentioning wind turbines, was driven squarely by community opposition to wind development in the county. Modern utility-scale wind turbines typically stand 400 to 600 feet tall, meaning the height cap would effectively ban them. The ballot measure represents a strategy increasingly favored by wind opponents: enacting general-purpose zoning restrictions that accomplish a de facto ban without singling out a specific technology.

Meanwhile, in Arizona, dozens of community members packed the Apache County Board of Supervisors chambers to voice opposition to a wind farm project during a March meeting. Details on the specific project and developer were limited in available reporting, but the turnout underscored the depth of resistance in this rural eastern Arizona county.

Battery Storage Concerns

Battery energy storage systems continued to generate fierce local opposition, with New York once again at the epicenter. New data reported by Energy Storage News showed that New York leads the nation with 97 BESS moratoriums in place — a staggering figure that reflects how deeply municipal resistance to the technology has penetrated the state, even as Albany pushes aggressively toward its ambitious clean energy targets.

One of the active flashpoints is in Middle Village, Queens, where NineDot Energy said it is proceeding with a battery energy storage system on 69th Place despite significant pushback from residents and local elected officials. Coverage from both QNS and PoliticsNY documented the community backlash, with residents raising safety concerns about siting lithium-ion battery facilities in densely populated urban neighborhoods. The developer has signaled it intends to move forward despite the opposition.

In Kansas, the Sedgwick County Commission approved a one-year moratorium on battery energy storage system applications, pausing all new BESS projects in the Wichita-area county while officials review their regulatory framework. The moratorium places Sedgwick County among a growing number of jurisdictions across the country that are pressing pause on BESS permitting, often citing the need for updated safety standards and fire codes governing the technology.

What to Watch

  • March 18 and 25, Sumter County, SC: Public hearings on TOCE Solar's appeal of the White Palmetto solar project will give residents and the developer another opportunity to make their cases before county officials. The outcome could determine the project's fate. (The Sumter Item)
  • June 2026, Dawson County, MT: Voters will decide on a ballot measure imposing a 250-foot height limit on structures, a referendum that would effectively prohibit utility-scale wind turbines in the county. The vote will be closely watched as a test case for using height restrictions as an anti-wind strategy. (KTVQ)
  • Alabama Legislature: Sen. Greg Albritton's two solar moratorium bills, SB354 and SB358, will advance through the legislative process in coming weeks. If passed, Alabama would become one of the first states to impose a blanket moratorium on solar farm construction. (AL.com)

Trend Lines

This week's stories reveal several converging patterns worth tracking. The moratorium has become the tool of choice for communities seeking to slow energy development — from solar and battery storage pauses in New York, Kansas, and Alabama to a de facto wind turbine ban via height restrictions on the Montana ballot. At the same time, the Ohio fabricated-comments investigation and the Massachusetts AG's repeated rejection of local moratoriums illustrate the growing legal and factual complexity surrounding these fights, where the legitimacy of opposition itself is increasingly being scrutinized. The Apex Clean Energy withdrawal in Michigan, after nearly six years of effort, underscores the real financial and timeline consequences for developers who cannot secure community buy-in. Across all three technology types — solar, wind, and battery storage — the central tension remains the same: communities demanding more control over what gets built in their backyards, even as state and federal policy pushes for rapid deployment of clean energy infrastructure.