“Look elsewhere”: Solar farm ordinance rewrite draws ire of Bannock County residents for and against the ban
DOWNEY, Idaho (KIFI) - For the last two years, local farmers in Downey have been voicing their opinions on the potential for solar farms in south Bannock County. It's a hot topic again as commissioners move to rewrite a 2024 ordinance that banned solar farms in Bannock County.
Public hearings, held before the ordinance passed, allowed Bannock County residents to share their concerns about large solar farms in their backyards. Other locals supported the development, saying they were excited over the potential financial gain from a proposed solar farm.
In the end, a 2-1 vote by Bannock County Commissioners banned industrial solar panel farms. The one opposing vote was County Commissioner Chairman Jeff Hough.
Former County Commissioner John Crowder, who voted to ban solar farms in 2024, said it boils down to a political battle in Bannock County that leaves taxpayers nervous about what large-scale projects they should support.
"The solar energy stuff is a scam. It's not efficient. And they wouldn't do this without tax subsidies going towards them," Crowder said. "This is what you see with these types of projects. The guys that are going to profit from them are going to be in favor of them. No regular citizens who stand to absorb the risks, whether it's environmental risks or aesthetic risks or whatever - they're going to be opposed."
A moratorium was placed on solar farms in 2024 while commissioners deliberated on the outright ban passed in March 2024. A similar strategy was used just last month by Bannock County when they placed a moritorium on AI data center permit proposals, to allow 180 days to deliberate new ordinance.
At the beginning of August 2026, Pocatello for Accountable Government Agencies put in a public records request for the new draft ordinance. Originally, Heather Disselkoen– co-founder of the agency– was denied because the document was protected under client-attorney privilege. Through more requests, Disselkoan discovered a third party interest had been given access to the ordinance five weeks prior to the public.
"It was information we felt the public needed to know. This was an elected commissioner, commissioner Hough, who had released it to a third party interest," Disselkoen explained. "Who happens to be Dustin Manwaring, the attorney for Balanced Rock [Power] and in my opinion, he was giving them preferential treatment over members of the public."
Disselkoen took to Facebook with her discovery and the post garnered serious traction online, skyrocketing to Pocatello for Accountable Government Agencies' top post. With Commissioner Hough in communication with Manwaring prior to the new ordinance becoming public, he released this statement regarding the situation:
Locals in Downey echoed Disselkoen's sentiment that this was a breach of trust and a favoritism to outside parties rather than Bannock County constituents. While nothing about Commissioner Hough's actions were unlawful, residents say it's a breach of their trust.
"Draft ordinances were supposed to be a protected document," said Des Hauser, a business and land owner in Downey. "To find out they're leaked to Dustin Manwaring, by Commissioner Hough, like, that breaks a really big sense of trust."
Local homemaker Rebecca Falcon said that elected officials should advocate for the people of their county, and that current commissioners aren't listening to the people of Downey when it comes to a potential solar farm.
"They're forcing it on us," Falcon said. "I think they're supposed to represent us. Our commissioners are not representing the people of this area."
For Downey ranchers and farmers, the rural landscape is a way of life and where they've raised families for generations. Many of them can't imagine life with thousands of acres of solar panels surrounding their properties, which the Balanced Rock Solar Farm Project promises.
"It would be in my backyard. I'd be surrounded by three sides. Our way of life, the enjoyment of our property, the reason why we bought it, where we live, all would be changed forever," Hauser said. "Not to mention the value of the property is going to depreciate."
Business owners in South Bannock County are looking for growth to the small towns like Downey. Joel Mcquivey is the owner of All American Roofing and Gutters, a business that relies on growth to the Marsh Valley.
"It will really affect the resale value of my properties. What I struggle with is that I want to be able to do what I want with my property, I feel my neighbors should be able to do the same," Mcquivey said. "But I also feel that what I do on my property should help boost the value of theirs, not take away from them."
Residents who support the solar farm project believe the financial gain outweighs the devastation of the land. Mcquivey said he has friends who would be crazy not to at least try and lease their land to install solar panels.
"Who's looking to buy when you've got a solar farm 150 feet from your fence? Nobody. It kills the resale value of your home."
-Joel Mcquivey
The entire project aligns with Gateway West, a power energy project designed to reliably deliver energy from eastern Wyoming to western Idaho. The area just west of Downey is already home to a large substation, making the land valuable to all energy developers. Mcquivey said simply, "look elsewhere."
Falcon said she was offered the money for a solar farm on her property near the substation, however, she declined. It's not about the money, it's about the rural lifestyle and protecting the history of generations of families in Downey.
"This is our home. In my mind, I can't reconcile any value on my life and my history," Falcon stated.
Falcon and Hauser have fought for their land in the past when solar farms were originally brought to the commission table in 2024. The commissioners at the time heard the concerns of locals and set the ban in place. Now, these same residents are prepared to fight again for their community.
"We all bought ag land, so to find out that they would turn our ag land into an industrial complex is just mind blowing. If you don't want to be a farmer or a rancher out here, sell it and go somewhere where you can buy industrial property."
-Rebecca Falcon
Hauser said when the ban went into place two years ago, it felt like a temporary fix. They knew the fight wasn't over because Manwaring and other attorneys could continue trying to get the ban overturned. During the public hearing process for the ban ordinance, Hauser and Falcon did grunt work in Downey getting the community to rally behind them– knocking on doors, hosting open houses at the library, and gathering people to attend public hearings.
"With this particular project, nobody was talking about it, nobody knew. They didn't knock on our doors and tell us our own neighbors were involved in this potential project," Falcon said. "It was about getting out and talking the neighbors in the community and letting them know because majority of people had no idea what was coming our way."
The local farmers worry for the newcomers to Downey, unaware their backyard may soon be filled with blinding solar panels. Their main concern is the destruction of the land, because once it's done, Hauser says the damage is irreversable.
"It's not like the town would feel the benefit of the power. It's going to get shipped out of here. So we have to give up all of our landscape, our way of life," Hauser said. "People live in these communities because they embrace their rural lifestyle. None of us signed up to say we want to live in an industrial solar complex."
Falcon says the project fronted by Balanced Rock would total almost 15,000 acres of land near Downey.
"We will definitely keep fighting," Hauser said. "We're not going to stop. We just have to keep a watchful eye on what goes on and be willing to stand up and be advocates for the people who might not feel they can."
Residents in Downey have utilized the public records requesting system and will continue showing up in every possible way to stop the solar farm ban from being reversed.
Local News 8 will continue following this story as it develops and more information becomes available.
