April 18, 2020
Texas

NTHA sends demand letters to energy companies regarding new wind farms

By Lauren Linville | KFDX/KJTL | Apr 17, 2020 | www.texomashomepage.com

The North Texas Heritage Association has sent demand letters to two energy companies planning wind farms in Clay, Montague and Jack counties.

Landowners are concerned the miles of large wind turbines will disrupt an endangered bird, the Whooping Crane, that migrate through these counties twice a year.

NTHA had a study done on this and principal biologist Jennifer Blair found that these wind turbines would kill some of these birds Or disrupt their habitat.

Forrest Baldwin and Bryon Barton, along with the rest of the NTHA are working to stop new wind farms and are using a new argument against them, that they could reduce numbers of an endangered bird.

“Your chances of seeing a Whooping Crane are gonna be small because there’s only 500 of them left in the United States,” Baldwin said.

“What’s so special about this place for the Whooping Crane is its just recently been declared a critical stop over area,” Barton said.

The group hired a biologist to conduct a study on this, with findings they said confirm their own suspicions.

“We will lose two or three of these birds either through being chopped up by a turbine or by being forced off of their native habitat,” Barton said.

They’ve gone so far as to send demand letters to APEX Clean Energy, inc., and the French-owned company, EDF group, stating the inception of the wind farms violate laws such as the Endangered Species Act.

“The Whooping Cranes are deeply endangered and we need to work with you, we want to work with you to find a way that we can protect them,” Barton said.

“We believe in property rights and we don’t want to tell folks what to do on their own property, but we have an obligation to educate folks on what it will mean to the county if these wind farms continue to come out here,” Baldwin said.

Black Angus Wind is in the early stages of development and has not yet advanced to the stage in which it will conduct its wildlife studies and analyses. We appreciate the concern of the North Texas Heritage Association, and we intend to fully investigate the issues it has raised if and when our development proceeds to the proper stage for conducting such research. Since its founding in 2009, Apex has built a strong record of responsible development across the U.S. and Canada, with 13 facilities currently operating and 1,600 MW under management.

DAHVI WILSON
Vice President of Public Affairs, APEX Clean Energy, Inc.

The land and cattle owners are pushing for the companies and landowners who have signed leases with the energy companies, to reconsider.

“Without marching or carrying signs or anything we just want to draw this to the attention to these companies and say we just won’t have it, it’s just not the place to be,” Barton said.

“We want people to stop and think, think about what you’re doing when you sign a lease or contemplate signing a lease, you are making a multi-generational decision,” Barton said.

To read more about the North Texas Heritage Association, click here.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2020/04/18/ntha-sends-demand-letters-to-energy-companies-regarding-new-wind-farms/