Tribal sovereignty trumps wind in Oklahoma

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Jan 04, 2024 View in browser   By Niina H. Farah A pump jack operates near wind turbines in Gray Horse, Oklahoma. | Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images A federal judge has just done something usual — ordered the removal of an energy project that's been generating power for nine years. The December decision came as a shock even to the leaders of the Osage Nation, who have argued for more than a decade that the 84-turbine Osage Wind Farm interferes with the tribe’s mineral rights. "To be honest with you, I was stunned we got such a huge victory," Osage Minerals Council Chair Everett Waller told POLITICO's E&E News. The Osage Nation gained nationwide recognition in recent months from "Killers of the Flower Moon.” The film — based on a nonfiction book — tells the story of dozens of murders of tribal members in the early 20th century by white men who wanted to take the tribe's oil rights. (Waller appears in the film as Osage Assistant Chief Paul Red Eagle.) While the film explores the violence surrounding control over the profits from oil and gas development, Waller said the case against Osage Wind is about more than just being able to pursue fossil fuel leasing on the land beneath the turbines. It’s about protecting the tribe's ability to develop precious minerals, hydrogen power or carbon sequestration for future climate projects, he said. "Our effort, not only will it protect the production side, but we're looking at actually protection of our reservation for future generations," Waller said. "That is really a huge effort." It’s rare for a court to remove an operating energy development. The Standing Rock tribe, for example, has unsuccessfully made a similar case against the Dakota Access pipeline. The Oklahoma district court agreed that the wind farm had to go to protect the Osage Nation's sovereignty. The project's developers — Osage Wind, Enel Kansas and Enel Green Power North America — failed to get mining leases, despite digging up and crushing rocks to use as support for the turbines. Leaving Osage Wind in place "would create the prospect for future interference with the Osage Mineral Council's authority," either from the project's developers or anyone else interested in developing the mineral estate, the judge in the case wrote in her opinion in December. The court ruling came after the Interior Department first sued the company for failing to get a mining approval for the project. The federal agency holds the minerals beneath the wind farm in trust for the Osage Nation. The wind farm's developers may still try to appeal the decision to remove the project, though their attorney did not respond to a request for comment on whether that was likely. Another hearing that hasn't yet been set will decide how much they owe the Osage Nation for a decade of trespassing.   It's Thursday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Niina H. Farah. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to nfarah@eenews.net. Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: James Bikales breaks down the Biden administration's updated rules for the electric vehicle tax credit, which took effect Monday. Power Centers A vessel carries components for Vineyard Wind in June. The landmark project began generating power Wednesday. | AP Offshore wind milestone in Massachusetts The first turbines at Vineyard Wind delivered power to New England's grid Wednesday, showing both the promise and challenges of offshore wind, Ben Storrow writes. The project, south of Martha's Vineyard off Massachusetts' coast, won a power contract in 2018 but didn't get the federal green light for construction until 2021. And that's a relatively fast timetable — just ask Jim Gordon, who spent nearly two decades unsuccessfully trying to develop Cape Wind off Massachusetts' coast. “I feel good about today,” he told Ben on Wednesday. “It’s an important date because offshore wind is going to be a major component of our energy future. It is unfortunate that it took so long to happen.” More about hydrogen guidance Big questions loom as the Biden administration considers public comment on its plan for hydrogen tax credits, Christian Robles writes. The Treasury Department released guidance in December for how the nascent industry can access tax credits available through the Inflation Reduction Act. The Biden administration hopes the guidance will help lower the cost of clean hydrogen, but developers and some Democrats say the guidance will slow development of projects. Christian outlines three key questions still at play, starting with the definition of clean energy itself. How an 82-year-old nun broke into a nuclear complex The FBI recently released new details about a 2012 high-profile break-in at a Tennessee nuclear weapons facility, in which anti-war protesters poured blood and wrote messages on the walls of a facility that contained bomb-grade uranium, Kevin Bogardus and Robin Bravender write. The incident at the Energy Department’s Y-12 National Security Complex embarrassed the Obama administration and prompted calls for beefed-up security measures at the nation’s nuclear storage facilities. Security guards told the FBI they were shocked that the protesters — including 82-year-old nun Megan Rice — evaded detection, according to the newly released documents. In interviews conducted in the wake of the break-in, alarm system operators and security officers described lapses including broken cameras and frequent false alarms that may have contributed to the breach. In Other News Trouble in the trees: Canada's boreal forests, which suck up huge amounts of carbon dioxide, have been damaged by logging in ways that endanger wildlife and encourage wildfires, according to a new study. Beneath the surface: Siberia's permafrost is melting as the world warms, releasing greenhouse gases and revealing fragments of the past, including viruses. Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. Former President Donald Trump points to supporters last month during a rally in Waterloo, Iowa. | Charlie Neibergall/AP Former President Donald Trump isn't holding back on climate denialism in his presidential bid. Shell is joining BP in asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to intervene in a dispute over the shipment of liquefied natural gas with Venture Global LNG. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.   Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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