Wind turbines are already part of the landscape in some areas of Val Verde County, Texas, but a wind proposal from a company linked to China is drawing heavy pushback.
By Edward Klump, E&E News reporter
A plan to generate wind power near the Texas-Mexico border is becoming a geopolitical flashpoint as national security and military training join concerns about wildlife and tourism.
At issue: A Chinese-backed project called Blue Hills Wind, which could bring more than 40 turbines to Val Verde County, Texas. The proposal’s future is in doubt as the Trump administration ramps up criticism of both renewable energy and China.
Blue Hills is drawing heat from wide-ranging opponents, including politicians like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) as well as landowners and conservationists. Even the Sierra Club, a strong supporter of renewable energy, doesn’t favor a wind farm at the current site. GH America Energy LLC, which is pursuing the project, said its plan would add to the clean energy investment in Texas.
“With so much private land in Texas, we would urge the company to look for other better locations for its wind project,” Cyrus Reed, conservation director of the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, said in a statement.
Texas remains the leader of installed U.S. wind capacity, and wind trailed only natural gas as a source of electricity in the state’s main power market through the first seven months of 2020. But challenges to emerging projects and transmission lines are apparent amid worries about costs, siting and security. At the same time, Blue Hills adds to tension between the United States and China over issues such as civil rights in Hong Kong, the Trump administration’s decision to close a Chinese consulate in Houston and the future of the TikTok social media app.
Much of the focus on Blue Hills centers on Laughlin Air Force Base, which helps pilots learn to fly military aircraft. While some wind turbines are already in the area, there’s worry among some public officials that training routes could be disrupted by a slew of new ones. A February letter to federal officials from Val Verde County Judge Lewis Owens and Mayor Bruno Lozano of Del Rio, Texas, suggested the turbines could have tip heights about 499 to 700 feet above ground level.
“Both the impact to U.S. Air Force’s mission and national security concerns are worthy conversations by all parties involved,” they wrote in the letter, obtained by E&E News. “We believe that this project and future projects of a similar nature will result in unacceptable risk to national security of the United States.”
GH America Energy responded to questions from E&E News with written comments from Stephen Lindsey, vice president of government and regulatory affairs. He said the company “has and continues to follow the applicable regulatory review process for onshore wind turbine development projects.” Lindsey said a business decision was made to invest in Texas given its renewable energy potential and the “long-term stability” of the U.S. business environment.
GH America Energy is based in Texas, Lindsey said, and is an indirect subsidiary of a company whose controlling shareholder is Xinjiang Guanghui Industry Investment (Group) Co. Ltd. Sun Guangxin, who appears on Forbes‘ list of billionaires, is chairman of Xinjiang Guanghui Industry Investment.
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