Step Up OK Accuses Wind Industry of Undermining Negotiations
Step Up Oklahoma accuses wind industry of undermining negotiations
by Randy Ellis
Step Up Oklahoma officials sent a scathing email to the president of The Wind Coalition on Friday accusing the wind industry of running a “stealth campaign” to derail Step Up’s plan to fix a multitude of problems facing the state.
“We came to the table in good faith wanting to engage you and leaders of the out-of-state wind companies who derive great profits from our state,” Step Up Oklahoma representative Glenn Coffee said in an email to Jeffrey Clark, president of The Wind Coalition. “To our great surprise, however, we learned your lobbyists were working only to derail the Step Up plan.”
“All the while we were meeting with you and your organization, you were executing a stealth campaign with the media to undermine our efforts to help the State of Oklahoma,” Coffee said.
Mark Yates, executive director of OK WindPower, denied the industry has conducted a stealth media campaign and said it’s obvious from the email that an impasse has been reached in negotiations.
Wind energy income for the state is far more reliable and consistent than the oil and gas industry. Look back for history and you will find that the oil and gas industry has been boom and bust and that will continue in the future.