Of legal insurrection
Energy expert Robert Bryce: “It's a colossal black eye for the wind industry, which has racked up tens of billions of dollars in tax credits through the use of its turbines, which destroy the landscape, kill birds and bats and destroy property values.” efforts to avert catastrophic climate change.”
Posted by Leslie Eastman
In early 2024, I reported that a federal judge had ordered an Italian energy company to close an 84-turbine wind farm in Osage County. This was a big win for the Indian tribe, but some legal details still needed to be worked out with the company Enel Energy.
The federal judge in Tulsa's original ruling did not specify a timeline for removal or the turbines. The judge also did not determine the amount of damages the tribe was entitled to.
Now the company has been given a deadline for both wind turbine removal and damage costs, both of which will likely result in the company missing its 2025 financial targets.
Dec. 1, 2025. That's the deadline Judge Jennifer Choe-Groves of the U.S. Court of International Trade gave Enel and its subsidiaries to remove 84 wind turbines west of Pawhuska and return the land to pre-wind farm conditions.
She also awarded approximately $4 million in damages for conversion, trespass and legal fees.
“We are grateful that the court stood up for Native American rights. “Our lands and resources have been stolen and exploited by others for more than 150 years,” the Osage Minerals Council said in a statement. “We will always fight to defend our mineral wealth, which our ancestors reserved for our benefit and the benefit of future generations.
“We are open for business and look forward to working with anyone who deals with us in good faith.”
Enel's first mistake was ignoring how unhappy the Osage were with the wind farm plans. Hot Air's Beege Welborn pointed out the Green Energy Barons' utter arrogance in her report on the original decision.
What upset the wind company was its arrogance. How many times have we seen this?
Although the Osage Nation did not own the entire property, since purchasing the land from the Cherokees in the late 19th century, it had ownership of all mineral rights under the wind farm and the area required for road maintenance, etc.
Back in 2011, right at the start of the project, the Bureau of Indian Affairs superintendent wrote a letter to the company warning it not to violate the tribe's mineral rights at the beginning or during any part of the development.
Ignoring this warning, others that came later, and disregarding repeated subsequent orders to acquire a mining lease and stop mineral rights violations were to prove Enel's undoing. And it will cost them a lot of time.
Enel has trampled all Osage mineral rights in its plan to build its wind turbines.
In 2010, Enel leased 8,400 acres of land rights in Osage County to build a wind farm with 84 wind turbines. The installation required deep excavations, using explosives to create craters over 10 feet deep and 60 feet wide.
During construction, significant amounts of Osage minerals were removed, processed and repurposed without permits, leading to allegations of unauthorized mining.
And as predicted, it will cost Enel Energy. The estimated cost of removing the turbines is about $300 million, a major blow to the company. In addition to the dismantling of the turbines, other details show that the judge was not affected by the energy company's arguments.
- The judge found the defendants liable for conversion, trespass and continued trespass on the Osage Mineral Estate.
- The court awarded $242,652.28 for conversion and $66,780 for trespass.
- The defendants must pay more than $36 million in legal fees to the plaintiffs, including the U.S. Department of Justice and the Osage Minerals Council.
Energy expert Robert Bryce notes that this is a historic victory against the green energy barons.
Big Wind has been cracking down on rural communities for years. In some cases, Big Wind has sued state governments to force them to accept wind projects they don't want.
…Only a handful of turbines have been demolished across the United States due to local opposition. In 2022, two turbines in Falmouth, Massachusetts were dismantled following numerous complaints from local homeowners about the turbines' noise and a years-long legal battle.
But an order to remove 84 wind turbines — from a federal judge — is nothing short of astounding. It's a colossal black eye for the wind industry, which has raked in tens of billions of dollars in federal tax credits by claiming that its landscape-destroying turbines, killing birds and bats and destroying property values, are part and parcel of it Efforts to avert catastrophic climate change.
It is also a huge win for Native American tribes and their legal rights.
I suspect this will be the first of many such victories against green energy barons who ruled this nation using “climate crisis” pseudoscience and political connections. The climate in Washington, DC has gotten colder for this nonsense.
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