Another session passed with no agreement on wind turbine setbacks as new language fell flat in the Oklahoma House Thursday before the chambers adjourned sine die. 

The House and Senate put the issue on pause last session after failing to reconcile differing visions from each chamber for wind turbine setback requirements and worked on new language during the interim.

Because no legislation advanced, the wind industry will continue operating in Oklahoma with no restrictions on how far wind turbines must be built from property lines or residences. 

Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, presented a revised version of Senate Bill 2 on the final day of session. It passed through the Senate 31-16, but failed in the House with 67 members voting against it. 

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The measure would have created residential setbacks, requiring commercial wing turbines be at least 2.5 times their height from residential dwellings and 1.5 times their height from non-participating property lines, according to the bill language. These requirements could be waived with the permission of a property owner and would not apply to projects that have already achieved a certain level of development or progress. 

Paxton said he set out to find a “reasonable” setback requirement and said he worked with both property owners and people from the wind energy industry. 

“There is no perfect on this,” he said Friday. “I’ve said on the floor, ‘This is a bill that really neither side likes, so please vote for it.’ You can’t find that perfect solution because you’re dealing both with property rights of the person whose farm it is and their right to produce income however they want to, versus somebody who lives next door.” 

Lawmakers have struggled to balance economic development with property rights and how much government influence is needed for future wind turbine developments. Outspoken groups of property owners have been vocal about wanting more severe setback requirements while industry voices have said standard setbacks backed by scientific evidence already exist. 

Paxton said he plans to bring back legislation on wind setbacks next session. 

“There was frustration with me from a lot of House members over some of their bills not being heard in the Senate, and I think they took it out on that bill,” he said. “I mean, the fact that they only had 20 ‘yes’ votes in the House probably tells me it was more of a vote against me than it was against the bill. … I will try to bring that back next year, and maybe the water will go under the bridge for long enough that they’ll consider the actual policy.”

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The House’s measure was more complex and did not apply unilaterally to the entire state. It applied to certain counties based on population density and wind speeds. It also measured the setbacks in nautical miles rather than by the height of the towers.

Representative Trey Caldwell, R-Faxon, author of SB2, said on the House floor that he thought the lower chamber’s version was stronger legislation but the Senate language was the only option if the Legislature wanted any industry-wide standardization as it was the last day of the regular session. 

Representative Jim Shaw, R-Chandler, has been outspoken about wanting strong regulations for the wind industry and increased local control on the issue. He voted against SB2. 

While debating the measure on the House floor, Shaw said the setback distances are “exactly what the wind industry wants” and called the bill settling for “lukewarm crumbs” and deferring to industry over Oklahomans. 

House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, voted in favor of SB2 and said at a news conference Thursday the ‘no’ votes were split between people who wanted no setbacks and members who wanted regulations to go further. 

“This is an issue that’s been discussed heavily in my district, and I felt like some protections were better than no protections,” he said.