A bill adding new regulations on Oklahoma’s booming wind industry passed a House committee Tuesday. The proposed legislation would place limits on where companies can build new wind farms.
The House Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted 11-2 in approving House Bill 1549. The measure would prevent new wind farms from being built near schools, hospitals or airports. State Rep. Earl Sears (R-Bartlesville) says landowners and the wind industry were consulted when crafting his legislation.
"There’s no hidden agenda there. I’m a schoolman," Sears says. "I have family that may periodically have to go to a hospital, and I don’t want our pilots worried about it.”
Under the bill, wind companies would have to notify nearby landowners before construction and hold a public hearing. The measure also requires stricter proof of wind project financing and turbine decommissioning.
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