Wind Power News: Oklahoma
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch.
NextEra Energy pulls plug on two wind power projects
NextEra Energy Resources dropped plans Friday for construction of two wind farms in western Oklahoma, following the passage of a law protecting low-level military training routes in planning of wind farms. The scrapped projects were Minco V, a 220-megawatt, 90-turbine wind farm planned for Caddo County, and Crowder, a 250-megawatt, 100-turbine wind farm planned for Washita County. The $270 million Minco V project would have employed 200 during construction and 12 operators permanently, and the $300 million Crowder project would . . . Complete story »
NextEra withdraws plans for wind farm opposed by military
NextEra Energy Resources is withdrawing plans to build a wind farm that had been opposed by the Oklahoma Strategic Military Planning Commission, according to the office of Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter and OSMPC Chairman Mike Cooper. Construction on the company’s wind farm west of Hinton was stopped last October after NextEra and the OSMPC agreed to work on a mitigation plan with the Defense Department to resolve the issue. Hinton is 53 miles west of Oklahoma City and 88 . . . Complete story »
NextEra Energy Resources scraps wind farm plans because of airspace concerns
Plans were dropped Friday to build two west-central Oklahoma wind energy projects, including one that had been paused by potential litigation over concerns it would interfere with low-level military training air routes, their developer announced Friday. NextEra Energy Resources, a wind developer that has invested more than $5 billion in Oklahoma projects, said it began notifying landowners it had negotiated leases with for those projects on Friday afternoon it will not proceed. Scrapped projects are the 220-megawatt Minco V wind . . . Complete story »
Governor approves bill that clarifies approval process for future wind development in Oklahoma
Oklahomans are poised to harness the wind’s power to support the military. Gov. Kevin Stitt on Tuesday signed House Bill 2118, which clarifies approval processes developers for wind farms in Oklahoma must follow to ensure needed federal approvals to protect low-level military training areas are obtained before construction on future wind projects can begin. The needed federal approvals must be provided by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Military Aviation and Installation Assurance Siting Clearinghouse. The measure, authored by State . . . Complete story »
Legislature passes new bill to protect military airspace from wind turbine encroachment
The Oklahoma House unanimously passed House Bill 2118 on Wednesday, setting new requirements and penalties meant to protect military airspace from encroachment by wind turbine development. Mike Cooper, city of Enid military liaison and chairman of Oklahoma Strategic Military Planning Commission, said the legislation protects the strategic and economic value of airspace used by Oklahoma’s three Air Force bases. Military aircraft fly training missions from Tinker in Midwest City, Vance in Enid and Altus in Altus. Sheppard Air Force Base . . . Complete story »
Proposed wind farm near Newkirk causes uproar by surrounding neighbors
NEWKIRK, Okla. – A proposed wind farm just east of Newkirk has some Kay County and Newkirk residents desperate, hoping to see the plans amended. Duke Energy Renewables has been planning the project, called Frontier 2 Wind Power Project, with the Kay County Board of Commissioners for the past two years. The plan is to build a 350 megawatt project comprised of 70 to 80 turbines, each 599-feet tall, on several leased properties owned by 130 landowners east of the . . . Complete story »
NextEra Energy to build wind farm near Enid
OKLAHOMA CITY – Florida-based NextEra Energy said Monday it plans to build a 250-megawatt, 90-turbine wind farm in Garfield and Alfalfa counties near Enid. Skeleton Creek wind farm, planned to be operational by the end of the year, will raise more than $54 million in property taxes, have $300 million in capital costs and pay $57 million to participating landowners over the 30-year life span of the project, said NextEra Communications Specialist Roxanne Reyes. Reyes said the project will create . . . Complete story »
Wind industry tax protests disrupt school financing
In the halls of the state Capitol, lobbyists for the wind industry have been handing out brochures touting the millions of dollars in property tax revenues that Oklahoma schools and counties have received as a result of wind farms being built in their jurisdictions. But there’s something those brochures don’t say: Most of those property tax payments to date have not been paid by wind company owners. Instead, they’ve been paid by Oklahomans whose income tax and other tax payments . . . Complete story »
NextEra Energy to construct wind farm in Garfield, Alfalfa counties
GOLTRY – NextEra Energy plans to have a new 250-megawatt wind farm operational in parts of Garfield and Alfalfa counties by the end of the year. The 250 MW Skeleton Creek wind farm, comprises of about 90 GE wind turbines, will be located in the northwest corner of Garfield County and southeast corner of Alfalfa County, said Elinore Beitler, a project manager with NextEra Energy. She said the wind farm will generate between $50 million and $60 million in property taxes . . . Complete story »
Corporation Commission adopts rule change that will require wind facility operators and developers to pay annual fees
Oklahoma’s Corporation Commission on Thursday adopted updated rules that include a new provision to require wind developers to pay the agency annual fees. The provision requires owners of wind energy facilities to pay the agency $2,000 annually per facility to help compensate it for its oversight responsibilities. It also requires developers of proposed wind energy facilities to pay the agency $5,000 whenever they submit notices to the agency of their plans to build a new project. Negotiations on the fee . . . Complete story »
