People move to rural Baldwin County for nature and a slower pace. But that same open land is attracting large-scale energy projects tied to data centers. One in particular is raising questions about growth and who makes land-use decisions in rural Alabama.
There's a sign in Stockton that marks an old line the border between the United States and Spanish Florida families have lived here for generations. Others move here for the Mobile Tensaw River Delta.
"It makes my heart so full to see so many people here tonight and in support of our wetlands," said Megan Fowler, one of the co- founders of "Stop Solar in Stockton."
When news broke that thousands of acres of timberland and wetlands could become solar farms, people took action, starting with meeting at the Civic Center.
"We are fighting to protect our wetlands, to protect the Delta and, by extension, the bay,", said Nick Williams who stepped up to lay out the details and the frustration many residents were feeling.
"A little over two months ago, the Alabama Public Service Commission approved two massive utility scale solar projects covering more than 4500 acres of timberland and swamp just outside of here," said Williams.
in December, the Public Service Commission approved two solar projects near Stockton, Alabama Power will buy the electricity, and a meta subsidiary tied to a new data center near Montgomery will get the renewable energy credits. Residents weren't the only ones surprised.
"We don't like the fact that you know this. All of a sudden came, came about," said Baldwin County Commissioner Matt McKenzie. He says the project caught them off guard too.
"I know it's private property, and I know it's not zoned area, and they you know the landowners have rights too, but I think the county commission should have been notified from the Public Service Commission," he said.
Under Alabama law, Baldwin County can't regulate land use in unincorporated areas like Stockton, a 1991 Planning Act allows zoning only if residents vote for it. Some areas have others haven't. McKenzie says the county's hands are legally tied in unzoned areas unless citizens organize.
"Everybody thinks we can just do it at the County Commission, but we can't," he observed,
To understand why Baldwin County can't simply say no, you have to go back to the Alabama constitution of 1901, that's where Professor Michael Gaddis from coastal Alabama community college says the story really begins.
"Alabama State Constitution was structured in such a way to give extensive power to the state government, and by giving power to the state government, it was a ways to keep control within a very small within a very small network," said Gattis.
So while neighbors were packing community meetings, the real authority sat somewhere else. And for the company building the solar plant, the decision wasn't about local politics. It was about infrastructure.
"The very first thing that we look for when we're citing projects is transmission capacity," said Reagan Farr. He's president and CEO of silicon Ranch, the company behind the Stockton project. He says it all starts with transmission lines.
"So you need to have a power line that has the ability to transport power across the grid. And this project has that power line bisected it," Farr noted.
Because the demand for electricity is accelerating.
More and more data is being created by everybody, so we're building more and more data centers, but, um, it has been difficult for utilities to keep up with that demand because we have not invested as much in the grid.
Silicon ranch says less than half the land will hold panels with buffers and pasture around it.
"I'm two days into knowing they are chopping down that gorgeous forest not five miles from me," said Two "G" Campbell who attended the meeting. She talked about living in the house her grandfather built in 1890 not far from where the panels could go. Oh, that kills me.
She recently heard the song MacArthur, the Hardy, and it hit home, saying, what you gonna pass on?
"And he said, the tree, those pine trees, were whispering," recalled Campbell. "And what you gonna what you gonna leave you?
Private land, private rights, public rules and the growing need for power. Who decides what this land becomes?
Editor's note: APR News reached out to the Public Service Commission for comment, they did not respond.
