The Republicans have done the unthinkable. Wind power has resurrected many farms and ranches and their communities in Texas, but all-hail-the-king, Trump-kissing Texas lawmakers have supported bills in the Republican-held legislature that, if passed, would undo years of work that raised Texas to the level of clean energy stardom.
There is even a Republican legislative movement afoot to screw with private property rights by limiting a landowner’s ability to host wind and solar farms.
One bill has already passed the Texas Senate. SB819 calls for the “police power of the state” to drastically limit new wind and solar projects by requiring permits for renewables not needed for gas, coal, or nuclear plants. A wind turbine would have to be 3,000 feet from a neighbor’s property line, for example, compared with just 467 feet for an oil well.
Texas generated 169,442 gigawatt-hours from wind, utility-scale solar, and…
