Osage Nation Prevails in Court Battle Against European Green Energy Barons
Judge orders removal of operating wind farm opposed by Osage Nation even before its construction.
The New Year has started out with European green energy firms running out of gas.
I recently reported on the news that European energy firms Equinor and BP terminated their agreement to sell power to New York state from their proposed Empire Wind 2 offshore wind farm, probably ending the plans for that project completely.
Now comes more good news for those who are concerned about inefficient and costly wind farm projects being thrust on Americans by green energy barons. The Osage Nation took a European wind farm company to court and prevailed…and now the operating windmills have got to be dismantled and removed per court order.
A federal judge has ordered Enell Energy to remove an 84-turbine wind farm in Osage County, with a final ruling that ends more than a decade of litigation over illegal mining on the Osage Reservation. Court documents estimate the cost of removing the turbines at $300 million.
A federal judge in Tulsa ordered the removal without a timeline and set a trial for damages due to the tribe. Everett Waller, who heads the Osage Minerals Council, said the tribe would expect at leave value of damage to the land, all lawyer fees, profits and tax incentives Enel received as a result of the installation.
Enell did not respond to a request for comment and has not disclosed their plans for removing the turbines.
Waller said last week the tribe had no interest in accepting anything short of complete removal and restoration of the land. The Osage Minerals Council notified the company before significant construction that any sub-surface required a permit. The company, even after repeated warnings over years, never sought approval.
Beege Welborn of Hot Air has been following this case, and she explains that the firm’s arrogance toward the Osage was its undoing.
The Osage Nation might not have owned all the property, but they did hold title to all the mineral rights under the windfarm and the area required for maintenance roads, etc., ever since buying the land from the Cherokees in the late 1800’s.
As far back as 2011, at the very beginning of the project, the superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs wrote a letter to the company warning them not to violate the tribe’s mineral rights when construction started or during any part of the build-out.
Ignoring that warning, others which came later, and disregarding repeated subsequent orders to acquire a mining lease and stop the mineral violations were to prove Enel’s undoing. And it is going to cost them big time.
Osage Minerals Council Chairman Everett Waller explained the challenges of conducting a multi-year energy battle in court.
“I hope no other tribe has to do what we had to do,” Waller said, referring to the long court battle.
“This is a win not only for the Osage Minerals Council; this is a win for Indian Country,” Waller said.
“There are a lot of smaller tribes that couldn’t have battled this long, but that’s why we’re Osages,” Waller said. “We’re here, and this is our homeland, and we are going to protect it at all costs.”
Energy expert Robert Bryce interviewed Waller after the ruling.
There is so much to enjoy about this development, but I saved the best bit for last: The Osage Nation is going to go after monetary damages, including the subsidies Enel received to build the wind project in the first place.
A trial date for damages due to the tribe has not been set, but a spokesman for the Osage Minerals Council said the tribe would expect at least the value of damage to the land, all lawyer fees, profits and tax incentives Enel received as a result of the installation.
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Comments
By and large I’m siding with the tribe except for their demands for damages. The “profits and tax incentives” are not damages to the tribe and should not be granted. Besides, I don’t think Enel’s made a dime off this project so far.
The irony is thick on this one. These ‘capitalist colonizers’ exploited the land in the ‘New World’ with reckless disregard for the ownership interests of the ‘indigenous people’. Your rules d/prog, so go get your net zero allies to stop doing this.
I predict bankruptcy proceeding with the Osage tribe left with those eyesores left standing.
I hope Im wrong.
They’ll be able to build a casino with the winnings.
Unlikely. I don’t think the company has the revenue to pay out.
Waiting for the company to declare bankruptcy and abandon the turbines.
Beat me by 19 minutes!
I find it of extreme interest that this has not been covered in the media at all.
Journalists are rewarded as much for what they DON’T report, as for what they do report.
And another one down
And another one down
Another one bites the dust
Biden green new deal is trillion dollar fraud. Won’t lower temps by one degree.
You’d think with all those fans it would at least make it feel cooler.
Liz Warren must feel so conflicted.
Not so fast on the celebration. Given the stakes involved, the companies who lost in the trial court may appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. This would be an appeal by right and not discretionary as most attempts to get to the US Supreme Court are discretionary.. A litigation is not really over until a final non=appealable decision is reached. While I hope the tribe wins, their battle and costs are likely far from over yet.
I thought it seemed a little early for a victory dance. I doubt the tribe will see a dime.
Considering the facts in this case, can the corporate veil be pierced?
“Ignoring that warning, others which came later, and disregarding repeated subsequent orders to acquire a mining lease and stop the mineral violations were to prove Enel’s undoing.”
Who do these Europeans think they are? Hunter Biden?
I wonder if the company will be forced to post a bond to appeal the ruling in federal court once damages are awarded?
Bureau of Indian Affairs in Pawhuska wrote a letter to the tribe four days after the Osage County Board of Adjustment approved a variance request for the wind project. The BIA official warned that the project “may have to be removed or relocated” if it interferes with the tribe’s mineral estate. Despite that warning, Enel began building the wind project in 2013. On October 9, 2014, the BIA sent a letter to Enel telling it to “refrain from any further excavation of minerals” for the wind project “until such time that you have obtained a Sandy Soil Permit through the Osage Agency. Failure to comply may result in this matter being forwarded to the Office of the Field Solicitor for further action.”
From this point we know how Enel handled the permitting process.
On a legal standing what is unknown if the BIA Field Solicitor followed through working with the Osage County Board or BIA left it in the hands of the Osage Cty. Bd. to deal with if they so chose.
If that were to be the case, would they not have standing to collect damages from the Federal Dept. of Indian Affairs?