As lawmakers aim to limit how close renewable energy developments can be to certain occupied buildings in Oklahoma, the governor worries about dissuading potential investors in the state. Others say the matter should be left to counties and property owners.
House Bill 2751 by Faxon Republican Trey Caldwell aims to limit how close renewable energy developments, like wind turbines, can be to homes, schools, military installations and other structures.
The prevailing consensus in the House is that wind turbines should be no closer than half a mile from someone’s home, or one and a half times the total length of the turbine, whichever is greater. Solar farms should be at least a quarter of a mile away, per the measure.
Energy companies looking to build would need certain approvals from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. Exceptions apply to property owners who waive the distance requirements in writing, and to counties, which may opt in or out of certain provisions.
Detractors of the regulations call into question the state’s role in limiting energy investments and infringing on property rights, rather than leaving it to counties that directly benefit from the developments.
Norman Democrat Rep. Jared Deck said the proposed policy represents missed opportunities for Oklahomans across the state who could build future wealth thanks to having a windmill or solar farm built on their land.
“Mineral royalties from natural gas and oil production have been life-changing wealth-building facilities for farm families and property owners all over our state,” Deck said. “To me, this bill chooses to tell an industry that we are not looking for your massive investment any longer.”
Caldwell disagreed. He emphasized the nearly 40 hours he and others worked on the measure, parsing through the various viewpoints, and accepting that not everyone can be pleased.
“I do push back on the thought that this is a pure infringement of property rights,” Caldwell said. “This is trying to establish a foundational level of regulation on two competing and compelling property rights, and trying to navigate that path and giving the entirety of the state of Oklahoma a baseline to do business in the state.”
House Speaker Kyle Hilbert said he thinks the legislation proposed by the House strikes the balance between an all-of-the-above energy agenda, renewable energy industry lobbyists pushing for little to no regulations, and concerned private property owners.
The measure passed the House floor with a 68-22 vote. Two lawmakers from southeast Oklahoma, Rep. Justin Humphrey from Lane and Rep. Jim Grego from Wilberton, took constitutional privilege and abstained from voting on the measure.
The move is typically reserved for when lawmakers have a vested conflict of interest in the matter being regulated.
Humphrey is in the midst of a deal with Danish energy company Orsted to build a solar farm on his family's property in Daisy, Oklahoma. Atoka County records show he’s leasing out 110 acres to the company for part of a 5,000-acre project. And from what he’s said to a group of about a dozen other landowners in the area who may also benefit from the deal, he’s looking at around $800 per acre for up to 50 years.
The Senate passed a similar measure, Senate Bill 2, Thursday morning, but with the setback distance set to a quarter of a mile. There are no opt-in or out provisions for counties or landowners in the Senate-approved language.
In a press conference later Thursday, Senate Pro Tem said any distance greater would be too harsh a limitation on the renewable energy industry in Oklahoma.
“Half a mile pretty well bans the industry, if you really think about it,” Paxton said. “If you have a section of land, in order to be half a mile away from anybody else's land, you’d have to own a big enough section and put the wind turbine directly in the center of it.”
Paxton said the problem isn’t a matter of distance, but one of keeping up with the pace of innovation and energy needs.
“The issue is there’s not a setback at all,” he said.
His Democratic counterpart, Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt, agrees. She said regulations on renewable forms of energy production, generally speaking, are overdue in Oklahoma.
“Our regulations are not keeping up with innovation,” Kirt said. “I think we very much have been keeping the status quo of the past.”
Stitt says he’s OK with some setback regulations. They’re normal in the oil and gas industry and should be for renewables as well, but that half-a-mile distance seems excessive.
“I’m always reluctant to put heavy restrictions on industries,” Stitt said. “I think that's a slippery slope. But, you know, reasonable setbacks are, of course, something that we need to look at.”
Ultimately, Stitt said, he thinks state lawmakers should be conservative in their regulations and then step back to “let the free market work and meet the needs of Americans.”
