Wind turbine rumors worry Northeast Oklahomans
Public meeting Wednesday to air concerns about possible I-412 corridor development
Some Northeast Oklahoma residents say they feel an uneasy sense of deja vu, fueled by evidence that wind energy development is coming to Northeast Oklahoma without broad public knowledge.
Green Country Guardians, an unofficial community group formed with the surprising growth of large poultry operations in the area in 2018 that remains tightly connected, says worry is growing about another such surprise.
A community meeting will have residents airing concerns from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Northeast Technology Center campus in Kansas, Okla.
Tulsan George Gibbs, who owns property in the Rose area, confirmed that in March, he signed an easement agreement with Steelhead Americas, the North American development arm of Portland, Oregon-based Vestas American Wind Technology.
“They seem to be moving very slowly to me,” he said. “They’re doing an environmental impact study on water and wildlife, like bats, and that’s it so far.”
He said the company has access to his land to explore building a wind turbine, but first, it will erect a machine to test wind currents and see if the location is suitable.
“They haven’t started the wind study yet,” he said.
An automatic reply from Steelhead and Vestas spokesman Matt Copeman noted he was out of the office through May 9, attending the CLEANPOWER 2024 conference and exhibition in Minneapolis, Minn.
Pam Kingfisher, a consultant who manages the Green Country Guardians Facebook group, said new people are signing up for the page to talk about wind instead of poultry, and it’s time for a “let’s talk about it” kind of meeting.
“We’re going to have an interesting conversation between people who really love this land and people who really will take the money and just don’t care,” she said.
Kingfisher said that while she believes in green energy, she also believes not all wind-energy developments have been well thought-out and that a lack of available public outreach from the company is raising flags.
Kingfisher said the group contacted Vestas and people who have been contacting landowners about leases but have yet to receive a response.
She said rumors started circulating a little over a month ago when a company representative contacted Tulsa-area cavers to inquire about bats. The cavers obtained a map with red dots, presumably showing possible windmill sites.
“People just started calling me, and e-mailing me, and messaging me about hearing about these coming wind turbines coming along (Interstate) 412. I didn’t really believe it because we’re just not the best place for that type of a project,” she said.
Kingfisher said she has contacted all state or federal agencies that might be involved, and none seem to be aware of any development. Reaching out to landowners, she believes she has identified 59 potential wind turbine sites along the I-412 corridor similar to Gibbs’.
She said residents are airing concerns about wildlife, the scenery, what more construction will do to local roads, and what impacts those roads and giant wind turbine foundations will have on water quality in the region’s porous karst geology.
“This electricity won’t be coming here, just like we can’t buy Simmons chicken at the grocery store,” she said. “We will be giving up farmland, beauty, a beautiful sky, eagles, and bats. We don’t know what will happen to the water. That’s the biggest fear down the road because they’re not going to look at that long-term impact, and that’s what I’m worried about.”
For his part, Gibbs said wind turbines are alright, especially compared to the look and odor that came with the poultry operations.
“I’d rather look at that than a chicken house,” he said.
