In the Trenches: Solar Farms Rejected From Georgia to Vermont as Data Center Moratoriums Sweep the Midwest

In Lee County, Georgia, a proposed 15.75-megawatt solar farm was killed outright by public opposition this week — one of at least a half-dozen energy project fights that played out across the country as communities from the Ozarks to the Green Mountains pushed back against solar installations, battery storage facilities, and data centers. The breadth of the conflicts underscores a pattern now familiar in the energy transition: projects that look straightforward on paper are running into fierce resistance at the local level.

Meanwhile, two more counties — one in Michigan, one in Missouri — enacted year-long moratoriums on data centers and other large-scale energy infrastructure, joining a growing list of communities choosing to hit pause rather than accept projects they say they are not yet prepared to regulate.

Solar Siting Battles

The most decisive outcome of the week came in Lee County, Georgia, where public opposition successfully sank a proposed 15.75-MW solar farm submitted by Inman Solar on behalf of the Stovall family, according to the Albany Herald. Residents turned out in force against the project, and local officials sided with the opposition, denying the application.

In Ohio, the fight over the state's largest proposed solar installation continued to play out in the courts. The Ohio Supreme Court last week blocked a permit for the 800-megawatt Oak Run Solar Project, reversing part of the state siting board's prior approval, as reported by Canary Media via Megaproject. The project still has a pathway to completion, but its future remains uncertain. The ruling fits into a broader pattern: according to an analysis by Save Ohio Parks, state lawmakers and officials have thwarted more than 5.3 gigawatts of solar and wind projects over the past dozen years. Tom Bullock, executive director of the Citizens Utility Board of Ohio, told Canary Media that the blocked capacity represents "a lot of inexpensive power that we don't have available to us" at a time when electricity prices continue to climb and data center proposals are driving massive new demand.

In Vermont, a proposed 5-MW solar farm on a community hayfield in the small town of Lowell — population roughly 800 — has divided neighbors and drawn formal opposition before state regulators, according to Energies Media. The dispute pits supporters who see economic value and renewable energy benefits against residents who want to preserve the agricultural character of the shared hayfield.

Farther south on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, a proposed solar project near Centreville in Queen Anne's County is drawing opposition from both local leaders and conservation groups, according to WBOC. The concerns center on the project's potential impact on the region's rural landscape and natural resources, though the proposal remains in its early stages.

Michigan presents a more complex picture. While the state enacted a law allowing green energy developers to bypass local governments by seeking approval through the state, community opposition continues to serve as a significant hurdle, WCMU Public Radio reported. Despite the state-level backstop, developers are finding that local resistance — rooted in concerns about land use, property values, and agricultural preservation — can slow or complicate projects even when local vetoes are no longer technically available.

Data Center Disputes

The wave of data center moratoriums continued to build this week, with two new communities opting to freeze development while they figure out how to regulate it.

In Ottawa County, Michigan, Allendale Township's board unanimously approved a one-year moratorium on data centers, solar and wind farms, and battery storage facilities, MLive reported. No data center proposals have yet been received, but Township Supervisor Adam Elenbaas said the community wants zoning language in place before any developments come forward. The moratorium passed Monday, June 8.

In the Missouri Ozarks, the Stone County Commission took a similar step, presenting a resolution to the county planning and zoning commission for a 12-month moratorium on data centers, solar energy systems, wind energy conversion systems, and battery energy storage systems. The planning commission approved it unanimously, according to the Springfield News-Leader. The move came as data center proposals have begun pushing into the Ozarks region.

An opinion piece published this week by RealClearEnergy framed the growing pattern of data center opposition as a national security concern, arguing that the "current populist trend" of citizens pushing back through protests and referendums — on data centers, solar fields, and wind turbines alike — must yield to the strategic demands of the AI race. The piece, originally published by The Empowerment Alliance, acknowledged that community-after-community resistance to energy and infrastructure projects has become a defining feature of the current moment.

Battery Storage and Wind Concerns

In Vergennes, Vermont, a proposed battery energy storage project is on pause after neighbors raised safety concerns about the facility, WCAX reported. Residents voiced worries about fire risk and the proximity of the installation to homes, echoing objections that have become increasingly common as battery storage projects proliferate across the country.

In western Kentucky, the Daviess County Fiscal Court is considering a moratorium that would temporarily halt applications for both battery energy storage and wind energy projects, according to the Owensboro Times. The proposal reflects a growing tendency among local governments to bundle multiple energy technologies under a single moratorium rather than addressing them individually.

And in Navajo County, Arizona, residents angrily confronted the Board of Supervisors over their handling of utility-scale renewable energy projects. "Don't tell me there's nothing you can do," one resident told the board, as reported by the White Mountain Independent. Concerns centered on water usage and other environmental impacts of proposed projects, with residents demanding that county leaders take a more active role in regulating development.

The Nuclear Contrast

Against the backdrop of widespread opposition to wind, solar, and battery projects, a Grist report from Nebraska highlighted a striking counterpoint: a utility pursuing nuclear power is encountering a warmer reception from the very types of communities that have resisted wind and solar. The article documented how the backlash against renewables in Nebraska's rural communities has been significant, but nuclear proposals — which tend to occupy smaller footprints and promise long-term, high-paying jobs — are generating less friction, at least for now.

What to Watch

• Daviess County, Kentucky: The Fiscal Court has yet to vote on its proposed moratorium on battery storage and wind energy projects. A decision could come at an upcoming meeting and would add another county to the growing list of communities freezing energy development. (Owensboro Times)
• Ohio — Oak Run Solar Project: With the Ohio Supreme Court's partial reversal of the 800-MW project's permit, the next steps before the state siting board will be closely watched as a bellwether for whether large-scale solar can move forward in the state. (Canary Media via Megaproject)
• Lowell, Vermont: Formal opposition to the 5-MW solar farm on the community hayfield is now before state regulators, who will have to weigh the town's deep divisions as they evaluate the proposal. (Energies Media)

Patterns and Trends

This week's stories illustrate a continued broadening of community opposition beyond any single technology. Moratoriums in Michigan, Missouri, and potentially Kentucky are now being written to cover solar, wind, battery storage, and data centers simultaneously — a bundling strategy that reflects the overlapping anxieties communities feel about large-scale infrastructure of any kind. The common thread across states from Georgia to Vermont to Arizona is not opposition to a specific energy source but rather a sense among residents that development is moving faster than local governments can regulate it. Notably, the Nebraska nuclear story suggests that community acceptance may hinge less on the technology itself than on the perceived tradeoffs — land use, jobs, and local control — that different project types present.