State Rep. David Perryman expressed extreme disappointment in the weekend announcement by Public Service of Oklahoma that it was canceling its Wind Catcher Energy Connection Project.
“Oklahoma citizens and utility customers across the southwestern U.S. are the losers with the cancellation of this project,” said Perryman, D-Chickasha and minority floor leader for the Oklahoma House of Representatives. “The infrastructure, including all machine heads and hubs were to be manufactured in the U.S., and additional components would be manufactured in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.”
The project was to be the nation’s largest ever wind farm comprised of 800 turbines located in the Oklahoma panhandle. Unfortunately, since the concept of the project was unveiled, it has been under attack by the fossil fuel industry and politicians who are funded by the fossil fuel industry, Perryman said.
“The 2.5 megawatt turbines were designed to enhance siting efficiency, offer industry-leading reliability and allow for higher energy production,” Perryman said. “The project had been previously approved by regulatory agencies in Arkansas and Louisiana with Oklahoma and Texas dragging their feet. The $300 million in Oklahoma property taxes that this project would have generated, the $65 million in state and local revenue, the 4,400 indirect jobs during construction and 80 permanent jobs once it went online will be hard to replace, but the greatest impact of this project’s cancellation will be consumers losing $7 billion in utility rate savings over the next 25 years. I’m incredibly disappointed with this lost opportunity to further diversify Oklahoma’s economy and bring much needed revenue to our state.”