By Courtney Barry

Environmental advocates in Texas are crying “bird kill!” over potential damage to a fragile ecosystem caused by proposed wind turbines. But is that really the issue driving opposition?

Aligned as “Coastal Habitat Alliance,” environmentalists, Audubon Societies, and the 825,000 acre King Ranch in South Texas seek to halt progress on two planned wind projects. The wind farms would put more than 600 turbines on 60,000 acres of land located near Corpus Christi. Last December the Alliance filed suit in both federal and state court, naming several defendants, including the PUC, the Texas General Land Office (which oversees wind farm development), and the projects’ developers and investors. David Newstead, of the Coastal Audubon Society, a member of the Alliance, says the projects could affect as many as two to three hundred bird species. Now ranchers and landowners are showing up at hearings, challenging the wind facilities on environmental grounds.

Jack Hunt, CEO of King Ranch, claims the sited area is “full of wetlands, endangered species, threatened species, migrating birds, and over wintering birds…We recognize the value of wildlife.” But reviewing the case history, before the talk of an environmental assessment, and before a public relations firm started fronting media questions for the Alliance, a long economic thread becomes evident. Early challenges to the wind projects raised concerns about hunting revenue loss, and tax abatements. Environmental concerns were raised too, but Hunt also acknowledged biodiversity is why King Ranch is world renowned as a hunting destination favored by presidents, foreign dignitaries, and CEOs. Indeed, hunting at the ranch bring in five times as much revenue per acre as cattle-raising does. That ability to command a hunting premium will be affected by the turbines, Hunt said. He also opposes hefty tax abatements for project developer PPM, claiming they will cost the county millions in tax revenue.

And from the King Ranch’s point of view, it doesn’t help that the neighboring Kenedy Ranch, where the turbines will be situated, stands to garner all the profits—between $1,200 and $5,000 per turbine each year, according to sources.

Still, ecology is the binding factor for the Alliance, and many people say the siting is just plain wrong. Ned Ross of FPL, which has scouted regions for wind, and has significant wind development in Texas (Panhandle region), says FPL was not interested in developing the area around the Gulf Coast, for various reasons including avian activity. Ross, aware of all the dissention created by the lawsuits, says “The courts are going to have to make a call on that.”

A hearing on the merits in the state case is set for March 5, focusing on the original transmission line order handed down from the PUC, and whether the Alliance can intervene, says Doug Fraser, assistant attorney general handling the case for defendant PUC. In the federal case defendants have filed a motion to dismiss, but the court has not yet scheduled a hearing date.

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