FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 2, 2024

Contact:
Cara Gustafson
[email protected]

AUSTIN, TX – As wind and solar projects rapidly expand across Texas, a new coalition of landowners, conservationists, industry experts, and everyday Texans has come together to demand action. Stewards of Texas is sounding the alarm on the unchecked expansion of renewable energy infrastructure, warning that without immediate oversight and regulation, the state’s environmental legacy, rural communities, and cherished way of life—including Texas’s vital farmlands—are in jeopardy.

“For months, we’ve traveled the length and breadth of Texas, speaking with farmers, ranchers, birding experts, conservationists, and rural families,” said Cara Gustafson, spokesperson for Stewards of Texas. “One message has emerged loud and clear: Texans feel voiceless. These massive wind and solar projects are being fast-tracked in the name of progress, but there’s no blueprint, no guardrails, and no accountability. Our natural resources, farmland, and wildlife are being treated like afterthoughts in this ‘green rush.’”

Fueled by federal incentives under President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, renewable energy development is exploding at a breakneck pace. But Stewards of Texas argues that this rapid expansion has ignored critical considerations: where these projects are placed, how they impact the environment, and whether local communities even have a say.

“Cities in Texas have zoning ordinances that protect them from utility-scale renewable energy projects being built in their backyards,” Gustafson continued. “Yet rural areas, including some of Texas’s most productive farmland, are being flooded with these developments, with no public input, no oversight, and no protections. While cities have a voice in shaping their future, rural communities are left without the same safeguards.”

Key Concerns Raised by Stewards of Texas:

  • Landowner Rights: Wind and solar projects are being fast-tracked across rural Texas, threatening the livelihoods of over 250,000 private landowners who have worked these lands for generations. These landowners deserve a voice in decisions that could forever alter their property and way of life.
  • Lack of Oversight: Unlike other major infrastructure projects, there is no state authority regulating where utility-scale renewable projects are placed. This has led to unchecked development in some of Texas’s most sensitive areas, including farmland and wildlife habitats.
  • Loss of Productive Land: Texas has already lost millions of acres of working land. The rapid expansion of renewable projects threatens to take even more, putting the state’s agricultural future at risk just as its population is set to grow to over 40 million by 2050.
  • Impact on Wildlife: Texas’s rich biodiversity, including critical bird migration routes and bat habitats, is at risk from poorly placed renewable projects. Once these habitats are disrupted, the damage is often irreversible.

Join Us in This Effort 
We are calling on Texans across the state to share their stories with us on our website. Whether you’re a landowner, conservationist, or concerned citizen, your voice matters. Based on the conversations we’ve been having with bird experts, conservationists, energy policy experts, and rural families, we plan to unveil thoughtful proposals ahead of the upcoming legislative session—proposals that Texans can rally behind to protect our land, our wildlife, and our communities.

For more information, visit our website (stewardsoftexas.org) or contact Cara Gustafson at the information above.