Wind Turbine Group Cancels Open House Amidst Opposition
Opposition continues to mount against green energy projects in Fayette County.
The Fayette County Commissioners Court was scheduled to consider a non-binding resolution regarding wind turbines. The agenda for their meeting on Thursday, Aug. 8, included the following item: “Consider and take appropriate action in signing a Resolution in support of citizens opposed to the proposed wind turbine project in Fayette County.”
The meeting took place after the publication of this issue. Look for more on this story in next Tuesday’s paper.
Apex Clean Energy announced their plans for a massive wind turbine project north of Schulenburg back in June. They are calling it “Mustang Wind.”
At that time, Apex told the Record it was interested in leasing land in a 50,000 acre area between Schulenburg and Hostyn. Anna Richey, a representative from Apex, told the Record in June that the company needed to lease 20,000 contiguous acres within that area in order to build the project. It would involve 40 to 80 wind turbines. They would stand up to 600 feet tall, depending on the type of turbines used, Richey said at the time. Apex had planned to hold a public meeting later this month to discuss their plans.
“We have decided to hold off on the planned open house based on some community feedback,” Richey said in an email to the Record on Wednesday.
Richey reported “no substantial updates at this point” regarding the Mustang Wind project.
The Record searched documents at the County Clerk’s Office and could find no filings for wind energy leases in Fayette County. If anyone in the County has signed a lease with Apex, they have not yet been officially filed.
A local group, FayCoSaysNo, formed in opposition to the Mustang Wind project soon after Apex announced its plans. They have since turned their attention to other types of green energy projects in the County, especially the Staccato battery storage facility under development in Warda. Last week, FayCoSaysNo launched a legal defense fund aimed at fighting such projects in the courts.
A public meeting regarding wind turbines and the battery storage facility will take place in Warda on Thursday, Aug. 15. The meeting will be held at Holy Cross Picnic Grounds at 7 p.m. Look for more in the Warda News column on Page B4.
The Fayette County Commissioners Court will hold a public hearing on a proposed tax abatement for the Staccato Battery Storage Facility on Aug. 22. That meeting will take place at 9 a.m. at the Fayette County AgriLife Building in La Grange.