Friends of the Tensaw River

06/18/2026

Stockton currently is reported to have over 10.5 inches of rainfall just TODAY & this rain event is not over.

Here is some video footage from an adjacent landowner to the Silicon Ranch industrial solar site property. What you are seeing is flooding that has come quite a long distance from Aiken Creek. It would normally be at least a 5-minute walk to the creek from the area where they stopped.

Then you’ll see what Flat Creek looked like earlier this month compared to right now.

Keep in mind, this is an area that’s accustomed to heavy rain events.

This is not an appropriate site for clearing & grading & installing industrial solar. The runoff the Delta would experience would be devastating to this ecosystem.

Right now, this area can handle the rains because the forest is intact.

06/18/2026

Thank you to everyone who submitted photos of the creeks that flow through the proposed Silicon Ranch 4,500-acre solar site in Stockton, AL today! Here’s some photos from the view along Hwy 59 today. Flat Creek, Aiken Creek & Rains Creek.
(Video footage posted just before this)

06/18/2026

The coastal area of South Alabama is no stranger to heavy summer rains, tropical storms or hurricanes. Mobile & Baldwin Counties are the rainiest place in the U.S., after all. Storms form in the Gulf and find their way into the warm Mobile Bay and upward into the Delta often. And yet, North Baldwin currently has a cumulative 11,000 acres of industrial solar proposed for currently forested lands that are full of wetlands and waterways. What happens when we clear and grade these forests? What happens when we sink approximately 700,000 pilings into just one of these three sites? What happens when 8 inches of rain dump onto glass panels in one day? What happens when that rain falls onto the graded ground that then slopes into our waterways? What happens to the estuary backwaters that serve as the nursery for the beginning stages of life in the Delta? What happens to “America’s Amazon”? Is this really an appropriate place for industrial solar?

Here’s video footage of the creeks today, after remnants of a tropical storm rolled over North Baldwin today. The creeks have risen drastically and are flowing at a fast pace. But right now, the ecosystem is in intact. It still has tree roots.

06/18/2026

We hope everyone in North Baldwin is staying safe! 🙏🏻

Our area is getting hit hard with rain right now.

We can’t imagine what 11,000 cumulative acres of cleared and graded forests will do to our North Baldwin waterways when summer storms, tropical storms & hurricanes head our way, as they so often do.

Stay off the roads, friends! 🙏🏻

06/18/2026

Again, we ask—why is our county allowing 11,000 cumulative acres of industrial solar in the rainiest area of the U.S.?

Why are we grading and clearing that much forest?

Stop Solar in Baldwin

Be weather aware today. “A particularly dangerous and life-threatening flash flood situation exists across the area," the National Weather Service in Mobile warned. More at the link in the comments 👇

06/16/2026

States all over the U.S. are experiencing the same thing we are: industrial solar/"energy infrastructure" that requires vast amounts of land, a lack of transparency before the developments are approved and a clear link to the data center/A.I. Boom.

The Ohio Farm Bureau recently testified before the Joint Data Center Committee, sharing members’ concerns about the rapid growth of data centers across the state and the long-term impacts on agriculture and rural communities.

“We fully recognize that the technology we use in modern agriculture could not exist without data centers and other related technological advancements.

However, the amount of agricultural land and other resources (water, utility-scale power generation, energy transportation infrastructure, and access to natural gas for on-site, ‘behind the meter’ generation) that are being devoted, or rather committed, to these projects has raised many concerns and questions among our members across the state,” said Evan Callicoat, director of state policy for Ohio Farm Bureau."

"As Ohio Farm Bureau continues to engage at the state level around land use, water quality, and energy, members also are calling for greater transparency and local engagement in the development process.

In order to protect Ohio’s vital agricultural economy and rural communities, Ohio Farm Bureau supports local residents and landowners’ opportunity to understand and engage in discussion *before* major decisions are made.

Farmland loss remains one of the top concerns raised by Ohio Farm Bureau members. According to USDA data, Ohio has lost nearly 1 million acres of farmland over the past 20 years.

Any land that is developed, regardless of what it’s converted into, is nearly impossible to return to a state of productive, agricultural use."

Sound familiar?

You can read the full article at ofb.ag/4e3oHIa

06/15/2026

Zeigler responds to today’s The New York Times article, which highlights the Stockton solar site, in this ALPolitics.com - News and Events article: “The people of Alabama and I are not against solar power and renewable energy.

Solar is fine on rooftops, for individual ownership, and in appropriate locations.

What we oppose are inappropriate sites for industrial-scale solar farms and data centers.

The Stockton site is in a bad location — ruining wetlands and taking away the character of an established community.

“The Times headline is incorrect. It should have read, ‘Alabama citizens stoke opposition to data centers and solar farms.’

The idea that Alabama Republicans are against renewable energy is an inaccurate slam against our State.

We need a Watchman to oversee this high-tech invasion of our communities, and I have a plan to be that Watchman.”

What are your thoughts?

https://alpolitics.com/nyt-spotlights-zeigler-psc-bid-ahead-of-runoff/?shem=rimspwouoe,&fbclid=IwVERDUASdKNtleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeYKkStjoVMJrMI4m8ca3cblS11zASV9haN2mtYcurijj35M4MuUNRZ6D3HaE_aem_4wi355ElpGvy4AqB6JxklQ

National attention turns to Alabama PSC race as Zeigler campaigns on oversight of data centers and large-scale solar projects

06/15/2026

One of the photos in The New York Times article today includes a street view of Dogwood Drive in Stockton, AL. This narrow residential road and neighborhood full of families is slated to become one of the main entrances to the proposed 4,500-acre industrial solar site. Houses on both sides of the road will have industrial solar outside their backyards if the site comes to fruition.

Read the article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/us/elections/alabama-election-data-centers-solar-power.html

06/15/2026

Here are some behind-the-scenes shots of The New York Times in Stockton, AL, on June 3rd, 2026.

NY Times journalist David Chen and photographer Audra Melton were given a 4-hour tour of the historic town that sits on the edge of the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta.

The small town has a 4,500-acre utility-scale industrial solar site proposed to engulf a huge portion of its wetland-filled forest. It also spreads into the neighboring community of Rabun, as well. Along with a vast network of feeder streams, three major creeks flow through the site which feed into Hastie Lake and the Tensaw River, just one mile away.

The tour began at Live Oak Landing, so that the journalists could see the OAW protected river. An Outstanding Alabama Waterway (OAW)classification is a high-level state designation applied to specific, high-quality bodies of water that have exceptional ecological or recreational significance. Under the federal Clean Water Act, OAWs receive the highest level of anti-degradation protection. This generally means that existing water quality must be preserved and strictly maintained, that new or expanded pollution discharges are generally prohibited, and it helps safeguard vital habitats for commercially important aquatic species, threatened or endangered wildlife, and prime areas for water-based recreation.

Meagan Fowler, president of Friends of the Tensaw River (a nonprofit formed to support the Stop Solar in Baldwin cause), gave the tour and felt that the Tensaw River was central to Stockton’s side of the story.

She expressed that one of the main concerns was that the solar developer, Nashville-based Silicon Ranch, has a history of run-off issues, damaging waterways and being out of compliance. Due to the extremely hilly topography of the site and the vast network of streams and creeks throughout it, the site is at high risk of run-off that could permanently destroy vital ecosystems that feed the biodiverse Delta.

After Live Oak Landing, the New York Times journalists were taken to the Baldwin County Bicentennial Park. Here, not only could they view the many historic buildings that have been saved from demolition, but they could also view the wetlands around Hastie Lake as well as the point where Aiken and Flat Creeks join together (two of the creeks that flow through the solar site property). The photojournalist was particularly enthralled with the cypress trees rising from the still backwaters, their knees popping out in rings around them. The nickname of “America’s Amazon” seems especially appropriate in this unique Delta area.

The 367-acre park highlights the importance the area has put into preserving its rich history and its wetlands. A memorial sits at the park for Davida Hastie, a local who not only wrote and published volumes on the town’s history, but also fought to preserve the very same wetlands under threat on this site when a developer attempted to turn it into a giant subdivision in the early 2000s.

After the park, the New York Times journalists then headed to Matthews Landing at Lower Bryant’s Landing. Here, they could view the other side of Hastie Lake where it meets the Tensaw River and see the large houseboat community that sits on the river’s edge. Approximately 60 house boats bob up and down with the waves and the small neighborhood community visits one another by golf carts. Two gentleman happened to be outside while the journalists were getting the tour and one, Michael Matthews, welcomed them onto a house dock to get a full picture of the floating neighborhood. Ducks swam between the houses, enjoying the currently pristine water, while the journalists interviewed Mr. Matthews.

From there, New York Times journalists then headed to the Stockton Heritage Association & Museum where Georgene Conner gave them a tour of the museum and gave a brief history of the 250-year old town. Mrs. Conner sent them on their way with local goodies.

They stopped to see The Stagecoach Cafe, the town’s staple meat-and-three Southern buffet, which was surrounded by political signs. The view of the gathering spot engulfed in signs is quite a sight to behold, and the journalists knew their story was turning out to be a political one.

They took in the view of the many live oak trees arching over Highway 59 as one approaches the Stockton Presbyterian Church. Between the ancient trees sits “Stop Solar Site” signs, dotting the road between multiple historic plaques.

They looped down 21 and Hodgson Road, admiring more historic homes, before heading to Dogwood Drive, a residential road that the developer plans to use as one of their main access points to the solar site.

House after house was pointed out, on both sides of the road, that were slated to soon have industrial solar as the view from their backyards. Swing sets, playgrounds and basketball hoops were a sad sight as the group contemplated this industrial future for the neighborhood.

They interviewed Sue Carberry, whose property sticks further into the proposed solar site than her neighbors, which has her facing solar on three of the four sides of her property. She expressed her frustration and dismay over the loss of the peaceful nature she has grown accustomed to for the past 20 years. She mourned her vision of building homes for her grandchildren in the future—recognizing that property envelopes in solar would likely no longer be a desirable place to call home.

Then, the tour took them down Highway 59 towards Interstate 65. The journalists were largely silent as they took in the long expanse of forest that continued for nearly three long miles.

They headed back to Live Oak Landing, where the sun was now setting—reflecting bright pink and sherbert orange clouds on the Tensaw River’s mirror-like still surface.

The story would develop into a political piece focused on Alabama’s PSC. The incumbents that rubber-stamped the solar site in a quiet and rushed 3-minute meeting on December 2, 2025, are now facing backlash from Alabamians. Between high energy bills and deals such as this solar dire which benefit the utility companies, Alabamians are demanding a change.

One incumbent was voted out and another faces a run-off with Jim “Zig” Zeigler on Tuesday, June 16.

While the article focuses on the political side of this story, the two journalists got a front-row seat to what exactly was at stake and why the people of Alabama are demanding change.

One quiet, beautiful historic town continues to fight to preserve itself.

—

The journalists then headed to The Gather in Atmore, AL, (an area also facing a possible data center and more industrial solar) before continuing on to Montgomery the next day to interview the PSC incumbents. The first day was spent in Mobile, interviewing Jim “Zig” Zeigler at The Blue Gill restaurant, the candidate facing the incumbent in the run-off on June 16. In total, the journalists spent three days in Alabama for this story.

You can read the article here: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/us/elections/alabama-election-data-centers-solar-power.html

06/15/2026

The 4,500-acre Stockton solar site was highlighted in The New York Times today in a piece that explores the run-off between Jim “Zig” Zeigler & incumbent, Beeker, for the PSC. The run-off vote is tomorrow, June 16.

Here are some snippets from the article, but we urge you to read the full story:

“Alabama is being targeted by huge data centers, solar farms, and carbon capture operations,” [Zeigler] said at an Elmore County Republican Party event this month. “If anybody tries to sell you on the idea of these data centers and solar farms because of jobs and economic development, tell them that you know better.”

What solar power has to do with data centers depends on whom you ask.

Data centers have united Republicans and Democrats, who fear the behemoths are using massive amounts of power and water that ordinary citizens cannot spare or afford. Solar power and renewable energy in general have one particular opponent, President Trump.

…Last month, Mr. Zeigler, a semiretired lawyer, finished far ahead of the commissioner he was challenging, Chris V. Beeker III, but not far enough to avoid a runoff. Another incumbent commissioner, Jeremy H. Oden, didn’t even make a runoff against another outsider, Matt Gentry, a sheriff from northern Alabama who also raised concerns about data centers and large-scale solar facilities.

….

Solar became an issue in February, when residents learned that the Public Service Commission had months earlier quickly approved Silicon Ranch’s 260-megawatt project in Stockton, Ala., in Baldwin County.

The project would occupy an area almost the size of Atlanta’s airport, and double as a working sheep ranch. The company would sell the energy generated by the $300 million project to Alabama Power, the state’s dominant utility. Alabama Power, in turn, would power a new $800 million Meta data center in Montgomery which has promised to use green energy.

Meagan Fowler, a local author and former journalist, read about the solar project on Facebook at 3 a.m. in early February. Then she started organizing, raising concerns about the project’s impact on a biodiverse area dubbed “America’s Amazon.” In 2023, she noted, a Georgia jury awarded a couple $135 million in damages from the muddy runoff from a Silicon Ranch solar project. (A judge later reduced it to $5 million, the parties settled and the company says it has “learned important lessons” about how they hold their contractors accountable.)

“We’re in the A.I. era, and so we’ve now got data centers popping up like Whac-a-Mole,” she said during a tour of historic sites, houseboats and bucolic areas. “These rural, unzoned, unincorporated lands have a target on their back.”

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/us/elections/alabama-election-data-centers-solar-power.html