July 2, 2026

Stockton Solar Farm Continues Forward

By Rick McCann
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News

July 2, 2026

STOCKTON, Ala. The solar farm in Northern Baldwin County town of Stockton, will move forward and eventually become a reality even though residents don’t want it.

Though the fight continues, Stockton-area voters said yes to zoning Tuesday, taking the first formal step in a fight to stop a 4,500-acre solar farm from moving into their community but others have said that property owners should be able to do whatever they want with their land including selling it to whoever is willing to pay the right price.

The zoning votes were 215 yes, 161 no which some say was too close to call it a win.

One of the issues continues to be that the electricity produced will be sent elsewhere and will not even benefit Stockton residents.

Alabama Power will buy the site’s full 260-megawatt output under a 25-year agreement the Alabama Public Service Commission approved in December. Every watt is earmarked for Dotier LLC, a Meta subsidiary building a new data center south of Montgomery, roughly 150 miles from Stockton.

However, one of the things that the referendum does is that it will put a 180-day moratorium on new development in Planning District 3. A five-member advisory board of Stockton residents will now work with Baldwin County planners to draft zoning rules for the district. The Baldwin County Commission holds final approval.

The petition drive began after residents learned Nashville-based Silicon Ranch planned an industrial-scale solar operation on a 4,500-acre former timber tract in their backyard.

Although some opponents say that this project would strip the character from a quiet rural community, consume protected wetlands, send stormwater and sediment runoff toward the Mobile-Tensaw Delta and Mobile Bay, and leave a derelict industrial site behind once the panels reach the end of their working life, others say the small town needs commercial business to move in if the town is to survive.

The county says Silicon Ranch filed permit applications before Tuesday’s vote, and a county statement holds that applications accepted before the referendum carry “vested, grandfathered status” meaning it’s exempt from whatever zoning rules follow.

Silicon Ranch has said it considers the project fully permitted from the county’s perspective regardless of Tuesday’s outcome.

The project is a $350 million utility-scale solar development from Silicon Ranch, built in two phases, designed to generate a combined 260 megawatts near the northeast corner of U.S. Highway 59 and Interstate 65.

Solar infrastructure will cover roughly 2,000 acres. The remaining 2,500 acres go into long-term conservation, protecting wetlands that feed the Mobile-Tensaw River Delta.

Also, Silicon Ranch plans an “energy + agriculture” model, converting the solar footprint into grazing pasture for a working sheep ranch.

The company projects $50 million in new local tax revenue and more than 700 temporary construction jobs. Few of those jobs will be permanent.

Panels will be built by First Solar at its Lawrence County plant. Major construction is slated to begin in 2027, with the site projected operational by the end of 2028.

SUPPORT OUR “LOCAL” NEWS
https://bluerammedia.com/DONATE/