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LINGLEVILLE -- Johnny and Tesa Whitley bought 350 acres in rural Erath County to raise horses and enjoy the breathtaking sunsets, but their view is now marred by something they never expected: two dozen wind turbines.
The 400-foot-tall turbines tower over trees atop ridges, some just a mile away. At night the structures' bright red lights blink intermittently, even reflecting in their lake, Tesa Whitley said.
"We had a beautiful horizon, and now all we see is turbines," she said.
Folks in several nearby towns, about 100 miles southwest of Dallas, are fighting to make sure the same thing doesn't happen to them.
They are warning their neighbors about the 99-year leases being offered by an energy company, saying they are full of restrictions and false promises of big bucks. They say the companies are swooping in -- even into areas that aren't as windy -- because federal tax credits for wind developers expire at year's end unless Congress extends the subsidy.
Opponents also are holding meetings and erecting yard signs against turbines, disputing that wind energy works at all. They say wind doesn't blow enough during peak demand, so it is a small part of the electricity grid's generating capacity. They say that unreliability isn't worth sacrificing their scenic vistas and high property values.
"The reason people bought here is because of the view," said Gary Key, whose home atop a Morgan Mill ridge has a panoramic view of the rolling tree-dotted countryside. "We've got a huge investment, so we can't afford to pick up and move."
Texas already generates more wind power than any other state, about 5,600 megawatts. The Texas Public Utility Commission has given preliminary approval for a $4.9 billion plan to build new transmission lines to carry wind-generated electricity from West Texas to urban areas in other parts of the state.
Billionaire Texas oilman
T. Boone Pickens, who has plans for a giant wind farm in the Panhandle, recently unveiled his plan to erect wind turbines across the Midwest to generate electricity and reduce U.S. dependence on foreign sources.
Wind is a clean, free domestic resource that doesn't use water like nuclear power plants, said Susan Sloan, an American Wind Energy Association spokeswoman. Energy companies do lengthy, detailed studies before deciding where to put turbines and would not build if the project were not profitable, because tax credits occur only if power is produced, she said.
"We need more electricity in this country, and wind provides a very good balance to what we have right now," Sloan said.
"I understand why people would be concerned and want to explore these issues ... but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. For some people they represent a new era, where we are getting smarter about energy choices."
