It’s unclear whether any are in Oklahoma, but an estimated 250 new onshore wind farms across the U.S. are on hold due to delays of approval at the Pentagon. At the same time, the issue has created a stage for permitting reform.
The Pentagon must sign off on the projects as well as the Federal Aviation Administration. The Associated Press reported the review process has ground to a halt based on information from the American Clean Power Industry Association.
The Pentagon is holding up the development of more than 250 new onshore wind farms on private lands by failing to complete its national security reviews, according to an industry group.
The Pentagon evaluates wind energy projects during the Federal Aviation Administration review process. But in recent weeks, it has stopped sending any projects back to the FAA, grinding the process to a halt, the American Clean Power industry association said, according to the Associated Press.
The Pentagon review must assure the sites of the proposed wind farms do not interfere with national security or military operations, much as the same as Oklahoma requires as the result of 2018 legislation. Then-Governor Mary Fallin signed House Bill 3561 into law to protect military training routes, bombing ranges and airfields from wind energy encroachment. It also now requires developers to coordinate with the Department of Defense and the Federal Aviation Administration to prevent interference with low-level flight training paths and airbase operations. Oklahoma’s Act was specifically designed to protect the training airspace and operational missions of the state’s three Air Force bases and related installations, Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City, Vance AFB in Enid and Altus AFB in Altus.
In the case of the Pentagon slowdown, both the AP and the Association blamed the Trump administration because of its opposition to renewable energy project. In a statement to the AP, the Pentagon said its siting clearinghouse is actively evaluating land-based wind energy projects to ensure they do not impair national security or military operations, in accordance with statutory and regulatory requirements — a process that involves complex, time-consuming interagency coordination.
While wind farms might be considered an attractive option to some farmers in Oklahoma because they can earn extra revenue by leasing some of their land, the issue of wind farms has certainly been a hot topic in the legislature in the past few years. Opposition to more wind farms grew as calls increased for bigger setbacks from the turbines.
The Associated Press said at least 50 of the pending wind farm projects are in Texas. Like Texas, Oklahoma is one of the nation’s top states for wind energy along with Kansas and Iowa.
A spokesman for American Clean Power said what is happening with the Pentagon’s slow-walking of reviews and approvals amounts to a “de facto moratorium” on wind energy development. CEO Jason Grumet contends the stalling of the approval comes at a time when more electrical power is needed nationwide to meet skyrocketing demand.
Whether the slowdown of approval is by intention on orders of the Trump administration, it is reminiscent of what the Biden administration did when it came to oil and gas permitting. As a result, the issue of permitting has become a major issue and as reported by OK Energy Today, is a major goal and effort of Oklahoma U.S, Sen. Alan Armstrong in the 7 months he has remaining in office.
“It’s not a sexy issue, it’s not anything that if you’re trying to get elected in the current environment that anybody’s going to say way way to go you got us that permitting bill done. But it is so important to our country and so as I pondered my ability when Governor Stitt asked me to consider doing this, I really wondered do I want to sit around in my later part of life and think I could have contributed but I didn’t to this. And so truly this is an area that I think is so important and it’s really important for somebody that’s not politically ambitious to focus on because it’s something really important for our country but it’s not something that’s going to get tackled typically by politicians that are worried about the more popular and short-term issues.”
Earlier this year, Tulsa-based Helmerich & Payne took part in a Washington D.C. fly-in sponsored by the Energy Workforce & Technology Council (EWTC) in an effort to directly lobbying congress for permitting improvements. It was a representation by CEO’s and senior executives from across the oilfield services and technology sector. Administration officials.
Permitting was targeted in 2023 by Oklahoma U.S. Sen. James Lankford as he joined others in writing letters of complaint to the Biden administration about the slow moving approval of mining development for rare earth minerals.
One such letter focused on a proposed new rule by the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council in which Lankford claimed would hinder mining permitting and only help China.