Growing opposition to wind farms in Oklahoma and other wind farm states

An 84-turbine wind farm in western Osage County resulted in litigation that is a decade old and still going. This image was taken west of Pawhuska, along U.S. Highway 60.

 

 

President Trump’s executive order signed this week halting offshore wind energy lease sales in federal waters also calls for an environmental review of onshore wind farms. It also pauses approvals and permits and loans for onshore wind projects.

As the President pledged to target wind farms, the fight against the wind farms is growing across the country. Oklahoma has seen a “stop the green” movement in recent months as landowners fight eminent domain. The growing opposition is in a state ranked as one of the top three states for wind power. They’re not alone. A backlash against wind and solar power at the county level, often for aesthetic reasons, has meant that in 2023 a full 15% of U.S. counties had banned or blocked new, utility-scale wind or solar installations, a USA TODAY investigation found last year.

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