From staff reports Opponents of a storage site in Cushing for discarded wind turbine blades proclaimed victory after the City Planning Commission recommended Thursday the operation be denied a request for a conditional use permit.
“WE GOT IT SHUT DOWN!!!,” they proclaimed on social media after the 5-0 vote by planning commissioners.
Reports indicated the operation, which has been cutting up old wind turbine blades for recycling, did not have a permit. The recommended denial will be taken up by the city council at a July 21 meeting.
“A god awful mess,” is how one Cushing resident described the pile of wind turbine blades that has been hauled by semi-trucks into the storage area across from the municipal airport.
“It’s been there quite awhile,” said the resident. It’s believed the operation, according to a presentation made by the operator to the Cushing Planning Board, is one of three in three states.
House Bill 2359 by state Rep. Brad Boles (R-Marlow) requires the owner of a renewable energy recycling facility to submit an annual report to the Public Utility Division of the Corporation Commission and also provide a current inventory of “renewable energy components waiting to be recycled and an estimated timeline and cost for recycling them.”
The law requires such operators to provide evidence of “financial security to cover the anticipated costs of recycling the reported inventory, including wind turbine blades, during the upcoming calendar year. The law specifies that “financial security” means “having 125% of the reported anticipated costs” on hand. Failure to submit the information could result in a penalty of $500 per day.