June 19, 2024 – Hopkins County neighbors take interest in nearby lawsuit outcome. A Cielo Wind landowner has been sued for their participation in the proposed Bug Tussle Wind Ranch that hopes to cover 30,000 acres across Fannin and Lamar counties. A neighbor of the potential 30-mile stretch of huge turbines has filed a lawsuit under the Texas Nuisance Law citing potential economic devastation and property value loss. Under that Texas law a nuisance consists of: “a condition that substantially interferes with the use and enjoyment of land by causing unreasonable discomfort or annoyance to persons of ordinary sensibilities attempting to use and enjoy it.“
More than a thousand residents from Fannin and Lamar counties have banded together in an effort to stop the wind farm, organizing the Facebook Group, Stop Fannin-Lamar Wind Project. Those organizers fear that neighbors along the windmill corridor will lose 25-30 percent of their land values when the huge turbines are erected.
The lawsuit reminiscent of David vs Goliath will go to trial in the 336th District Court in Fannin County, presumably heard by Judge Laurine J. Blake. Cielo Wind, per their website, states they plan to invest $300 million in the Bug Tussle Wind Ranch, partially financed using federal infrastructure bill tax credits.
Hopkins County residents continue to keep a close eye on the Fannin County lawsuit as Apex Energy plans a similar project in the Hopkins County area.
