Opponents of a storage of outdated wind turbine blades that appeared in Cushing are proclaiming victory after the Cushing City Planning Commission recommended Thursday the operation be denied a request for a conditional use permit.
“WE GOT IT SHUT DOWN!!!,” they proclaimed on social media following the 5-0 vote by planning commissioners.
Reports indicated the operation which was cutting up the old wind turbine blades for recycling did not have a permit. The recommended denial will be taken up by the city council at a July 21 meeting.
“A god awful mess,” is how one Cushing resident described the pile of wind turbine blades that had been hauled by semi-trucks into the storage area across from the Municipal Airport.
“It’s been there quite a while,” said the resident. It’s believed the operation, according to a presentation made by the operator to the Cushing Planning Board, is one of three in three states.
What is not known is whether the operation was registered with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission as required by a state law created in 2023. HB 2359 requires the owner of a renewable energy recycling facility to submit an annual report to the Public Utility Division of the Commission and also provide a current inventory of “renewable energy components waiting to be recycled and an estimated timmeline and cost for recycling them.”
The law also requires such operators to provide evidence of “having 125 percent of the reported anticipated costs.” Failure to submit the information could result in a penalty of $500 per day.
