Scout Clean Energy hosted the first of two planned open-house events on Tuesday, April 11, at the Berryville Community Center to address residents’ concerns over the company’s planned wind-turbine development near Green Forest.

Scout, based in Boulder, Colo., plans for its “Nimbus” project to expand over approximately 9,000 acres — about 14 square miles — in Carroll County, much of it along County Road 905 southeast of Green Forest. Scout says the project could generate up to 180 megawatts of electricity at peak demand — enough to power almost 30,000 homes. Scout says it has signed lease agreements with more than 50 landowners and estimates that the 30-year project will generate more than $14 million in lease payments and $25 million in tax revenue for the county.

The planned project has drawn vigorous opposition from opponents who say it will be harmful to wildlife, have adverse health effects for humans and potentially cause significant damage to county roads. Several of those opponents voiced their concerns at the Carroll County Quorum Court’s March 21 meeting, where some residents also spoke in favor of the project.

At the April 11 open house, opponents of the project carried signs expressing their concerns. There were no speakers at the event; instead tables were set up so that residents could speak with Scout representatives about various aspects of the project.

Dave Iadarola, a senior project manager for Scout, said the open house was designed to allow residents to have their concerns addressed.

“There’s been some discussion at the quorum court about the project and what they can do about it, some opposition to it,” Iadarola said. “This is a response to that, to try to provide information, a place where people can ask questions, learn about the project and voice concerns.”

Iadarola acknowledged that the project does carry the potential to affect the environment but he said multiple studies have been conducted since the project began development in 2016.

“From our perspective … we’ve done, it’s hard to count how many studies on the project,” he said. “That’s for two reasons. It’s to see what’s out here, environmentally, and then to understand what our risk is from the environmental perspective. And after doing all that, we’ve come to the conclusion that, yes, there is some risk that we need to address but we are designing the site towards that.”

Iadarola said he understands why local residents would have concerns about the project.

“In any kind of development, there’s pros and cons,” he said. “And so, it’s not unexpected that there are people that are upset about it. … That’s kind of the purpose of this meeting is to help people understand that we’ve thought about this project significantly and tried to address the risks.”

Iadarola said the project will provide tax benefits to the county as well as allowing landowners to supplement their income.

“The agreements allow (the landowners) to continue to use their property how they see fit,” he said. “If they’re farming, it allows them to continue to farm.”

Iadarola also said the possibility of damage being done to county roads is “a valid concern.”

“We know that potentially could happen, especially with the large loads we have,” he said. “That’s why we try to enter — and we do on every other project — into what’s called a road use agreement to make sure that any damage caused by us is not burdening the county with damage. Of course we’re responsible for that damage. We want to make sure we take care of it and that’s why we go to those agreements.”

Scout will host another open house from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, April 24, at the Berryville Community Center.