East Texas community members fighting plans to build solar energy farm

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Texas (KLTV) - Some citizens in one East Texas community are fighting against plans to build a solar energy farm.

The Franklin County Commissioners Court want a moratorium reinstated to prevent the project.

During a heated Franklin County Commissioners Court meeting Monday morning, the community gathered to voice concerns over industrial solar farms coming to the county to build and expand on up to 30,000 acres of land.

County Judge Scott Lee says the county attorney and legal representation for the state said they do not have the authority to mandate a moratorium, which would temporarily prevent the construction.

“We have to follow our attorney’s advice and if we don’t follow our attorney’s advice we’re no longer under the umbrella of lawsuit, personally, because we went against that,” says Lee.

Judge Lee says while he does not personally agree with building the solar farms, the county has to stay within their legal boundaries.

Ronny Barker has lived in Franklin County his entire life --- he believes the county’s greater legal responsibility is to protect public health.

“...and it says, ‘the governing body of a municipality or the commissioners court may enforce any law that is reasonably necessary to protect the public health,” says Barker. “And that’s what we’re asking them to do and they’re scared to do it because they have been spooked so much about getting sued.”

Those in the community are concerned about the negative impact they say the solar farms will have on the county – including environmental impacts, property values, and fire hazards, among others.

Attorney Hicks says in his case, the land that would be affected has been in his family for nearly two hundred years.

“Suddenly I found out on September the 12th, 2022, that a foreign owned company, Enell out of Rome, Italy, was planning to take 1,500 acres of land that’s surrounding my prairie on three sides and I have a highway out front. "

Joe Dihle is a rancher that lives on FM 1896.

They’re talking about 10,000 acres of basically pasture and crop land out of production,” says Dihle. “It’s been my experience when that type of land is taken out of production the local businesses suffer.”

Representatives from the Stockyard Solar Project were not at the meeting.

County Judge Lee says he is having the state attorney general offer a third opinion on whether they can reinstate the rescinded moratorium.

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