Wind energy company shows contempt for Osage County tallgrass prairie
Oklahoman | January 25, 2015 | newsok.com
Oklahoman | January 25, 2015 | newsok.com
The U.S. attorney’s office in Tulsa has filed suit against the Italian wind energy giant Enel. The court was asked to order Enel to tear down illegal wind turbines constructed on more than 8,000 acres of pristine Osage County tallgrass prairie. The Osage Tribe, Osage County cattlemen, the Nature Conservancy and others have felt the contempt this massive international company has for those who oppose them.
These groups have been vocal in protesting the building of an industrial wind refinery on the largest unspoiled piece of native prairie remaining in the U.S. I took photos of Enel crushing tons of limestone for the gigantic turbine foundations. This action is illegal because the Osage Nation owns the subsurface of all of Osage County. Enel arrogantly didn’t seek a permit from the Osage Tribe. The Bureau of Indian Affairs found that Enel was mining without a permit and ordered an immediate stop. Instead, in the most brazen contemptuous way, Enel defied U.S. law and accelerated construction!
Most people in Osage County consider this land to be sacred. They pray that the wind turbines will be torn down. Destroying a pristine environment in the name of green energy is wrong!
Joe Conner, Fairfax
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2015/01/25/wind-energy-company-shows-contempt-for-osage-county-tallgrass-prairie/