March 12, 2015
Texas

County court hears from wind farm opponents

Gerry Gamel | Mason County News | March 11, 2015 | www.masoncountynews.com

During Monday’s regular meeting of the Mason County Commissioners’ Court, a group of residents from the western part of the county showed up to express their opposition to possible development of a wind farm in the area.

Judge Jerry Bearden welcomed the visitors and explained that the group was appearing on the agenda during the public comment section, so there would be no action taken on their issues. He also explained that Enel Green Power, the proposed developer of the farm, had renewed several leases on properties from Mason Mountain to the west. He explained that the county had no regulatory authority in regards to the windfarms, nor would they want to interfere in the the private property rights of landowners who have signed those leases. However, he acknowledged that the Court recognized the concerns of neighboring landowners and wished to offer them a platform to make their arguments. He then opened the floor to several of the visitors.

All of the speakers repeated their concerns about a decrease in property values, impact upon the natural beauty of the county, effect upon bats and birds, and the irreversible effect upon further development in the county.

After the guests were finished speaking, Judge Bearden and the commissioners asked some questions about the property area involved, the issues of tax abatements and production tax credits and long term effect upon ad valorem taxes for the county.

The Judge thanked the visitors for their willingness to share their concerns and for their concern for the long term effect of certain types of development for the county.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2015/03/12/county-court-hears-from-wind-farm-opponents/