Caddo County Couple Fighting Against Wind Turbines

Homeowners in Western Oklahoma are divided over wind energy. While many property owners are leasing their land for wind turbines, others are trying to escape their shadow.

“You can’t get accustomed to the sounds because it’s a constantly changing sound,” said Tammy Hofstutlar.

The Hofstutlars put their Calumet home on the market more than two years ago, because they were tired of living next to towering wind turbines.

They just built a home between Hinton and Hydro.

“We spend two to three years to find a place to build and here we go again another fight,” said Tammy.

Tammy said wind energy company Nextera has leased land seen from their back porch.

Feeling powerless, the Hoftstutlars said they can only hope the company will build transmission lines and not turbines.

Nextera is now suing the town of Hinton for passing a wind turbine buffer zone two miles outside city limits.

Hinton's mayor and the Hoftstulars wish the state had a regulatory agency to oversee just the wind industry. They think that will allow for better enforce of set-backs and oversight of possible environmental impacts.

“The law of unintended consequences is really coming into play,” said Rick Hoftstutlar, who thinks transmission lines will have a major impact on wildlife.

Meanwhile, the couple can’t sell their previous home in Calumet.

After two years on the market, they’ve received one offer, which the Hoftstutlars claim is more than 30-percent below the appraised value.