PLEASE NOTE: SUPPORTERS OF INDUSTRIAL SOLAR DEVELOPMENT AND OTHER INTERESTS HAVE ADOPTED THE SAME OR SIMILAR NAMES USED BY THE HICKS ALLIED GROUP. ONE SUCH FACEBOOK PAGE HAD A STONE CASTLE LOOKING PHOTO AS ITS PROFILE PIC LOGO AND NOW HAS A TREE PHOTO PROFILE PIC TAKEN FROM THE PHOTO COVER PAGE OF THE JUNE 2023 PRELIMINARY REPORT & FINDINGS - FRANKLIN COUNTY SOLAR RESOLUTION STUDY. PLEASE BE SURE YOU RELY ON THE SAVEFRANKLINCOUNTYTEXAS FACEBOOK PAGE WITH THE "BIG GREEN TREE" PHOTO LOGO TO AVOID CONFUSION AND POTENTIAL MISINFORMATION. IF ALL ELSE FAILS, LOOK FOR POSTS UPLOADED OR SHARED BY YOURS TRULY, B.F. HICKS. THANK YOU FOR VISITING.
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May 7, 2025 post
Check out the new solar destruction at 9423 CR 2310, Pickton, Texas 75471. Destroying fields and forests on rolling East Texas landscape. Oil and gas takes a fraction of the land to produce equivalent energy and oil and gas is reliable and dispatchable; neither of which describes wind or solar. And a battery system will discharge for about 4 hours. We can't afford this industry. About 18 miles southwest of Mt. Vernon, Texas. Tell our state leaders to give us some relief. Erosion and pollution and ruin. And what do we do with the wasted and damaged panels when the inevitable hailstorm or tornado hits.
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May 6, 2025
ENDORSEMENTS (WE ASK THE PUBLIC TO PLEASE CALL OR E-MAIL AUSTIN FOR PASSAGE OF ALL 6 OF THESE BILLS)
** SB 819 **
Author Lois Kolkhorst; 10 total primary authors in Senate; House Bill 553 filed by Jared Patterson of Frisco.
Companion Bill to SB 819. SB 819 – passed Senate; and is now assigned to House Committee on State Affairs. Waiting for committee hearing date to be set. This one is important (even though SB 819 only requires something like a 200 foot setback for solar construction but right now it is 12 feet so 200 feet is an improvement). Solar/wind/battery developers have to give public notice by a newspaper publication (one time). Have to apply to PUC but if no contest, approval follows automatically. No hindrance. At least we (the public) get some regulation.
SB 819 – Please contact members of the Texas House of Representatives and particularly members of the House Committee on State Affairs. SB 819 is covered in news stories as being repressive. SB 819 is an honest attempt to protect property owners. Foreign solar developers will have to honor setbacks. 100 feet from property lines of neighbors; 200 feet from property lines of residential property. No more. This is fair. At this time, they can build right up to property lines.
A solar developer would have to give a one time published notice in a newspaper (up to 25 mile distance) of a development and would have to apply to the PUC for a permit which is pretty much guaranteed under the language of the bill. Read SB 819. This is not repressive. This is common sense protection for neighbors.
** SB 383 **
Author Senator Mayes Middleton – SB 383. Regulation of siting for offshore wind turbines. Passed in Senate – Business and Commerce Committee. 5/5/2025 (Co-authors – Middleton and Kolkhorst). Now up for calendar committee/ pending vote before full Senate.
Please ask our Texas leaders to pass this bill which gives local communities control of the siting of offshore wind turbines along our Texas coastline.
** SB 75 **
Author Bob Hall. Grid resilience requirements / standards. Oversight by state. Passed Senate. In House State Affairs Committee (public hearing 5/5/2025)
Please ask the House State Affairs Committee to approve this bill and advance it for a vote in the Texas House. This bill protects Texans. A winter storm covering panels, a tornado, or doldrums which stop blades from spinning; a demand on batteries lasting more than 4 hours depleting their energy and Texas in the middle of a two-day freeze: no, we have to have resilient standards. We have to have the back-up of resilient power provided by either modern nuclear plants or clean-burning natural gas. Ask the House leaders to pass this bill for the sake of Texas and Texans.
** SB 1754 **
Author - Birdwell. Hall and Schwertner - co-authors. (end Section 312 tax breaks) (HB 4057 is companion to SB 1754 and is in the House Ways and Means Committee). SB 1754 Passed the Senate and is the House Ways and Means Committee.
Solar and Wind production requires over 50 times the land space required for production of equivalent energy by natural gas or nuclear facilities. Solar and wind are getting over 20 times the tax credits and incentives offered for natural gas and nuclear. Time to end the Section 312 tax breaks. Please tell the House Ways and Means Committee to approve this proposed legislation and advance it for a vote in the House for the sake of Texas and Texans.
** HB 3056 **
Author – Rep. Virdell. Multiple co-authors. In House State Affairs Committee. to regulate placement of BESS installations at 500 yards from neighboring property owners.
This bill proposed by Representative Wes Virdell and multiple co-authors is in the House State Affairs Committee. Ask the Committee to approve this proposed legislation which will require dangerous and deadly BESS installations to be placed 500 yards away from neighboring property owners. We need this protection and we need it now.
HB 3356
Filed by Jared Patterson, (has companion bill in senate); passed House State Affairs Committee. 2 joint authors and 18 co-authors. Passed State Affairs. 4/29/2025 -to calendars committee to schedule vote before full House. Great bill. Limits price gouging by renewables. Rewards dispatchable power providers. Would limit possibility of a repeat of the Artic Storm Uri pricing.
A bill to limit price gouging by solar, wind and battery operators. We don’t need another Artic Storm Uri. We can’t afford the expense to Texas consumers. Please ask the Texas House to pass this bill and pass it on to the Texas Senate for the sake of Texas and Texans.
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May 2, 2025
Below is a post from SaveVanZandtCounty facebook page
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David Dunagan
Admin
· April 18 at 4:23 PM ·
The full statement by the Texas Farm Bureau. A big thank you to Brian Cummins for contacting them:
In line with TFB policy, we fully support legislation aimed at regulating and overseeing wind, solar, and battery energy facilities. We have consistently backed such legislation in previous sessions. This session, Sen. Kolkhorst’s SB 819 has progressed the furthest, being passed out of the full Senate and is currently waiting for a hearing in the House.
Additionally, we officially registered TFB’s full support for SB 1825 by Sen. Schwertner and its House companion, HB 3824 by Rep. King, during their committee hearings.
SB 1979 by Sen. Hall and HB 4363 by Rep. Money have yet to receive a committee hearing this session. Nevertheless, we are in full support of these bills and will officially register TFB's position once they are scheduled for a hearing.
TFB has not opposed any bills that would implement regulation and oversight of wind and solar energy.
Please let me know if you have any questions or need additional information.
Thanks!
Charlie Leal
State Legislative Director
Facebook
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April 29, 2025 post
Folks: A renewable industry paid agent (J.R. Howard) is calling our Franklin County solar opposition team “alarmists.”
Mr. Howard rents out sheep to graze under solar panel placements. I doubt there is enough grass to really support the sheep, but it may let the foreign solar developers claim agricultural use on their land and lay some claim to tax breaks.
Normally a rancher would pay to lease land for livestock. I think this is a case where the foreign developers are paying to have the sheep brought in.
The land is so compacted and damaged from construction of the solar fields that I doubt there can be enough grass to justify regular agriculture use.
And: to heck with all of the great photos of wildflowers attracting birds and bees. Go look at the installations across Lamar and Hopkins Counties. Pretty pitiful looking land with a lot of acreage covered by damaged panels after March storms. Those panels leach toxins; and now sheep are eating the grass… No, this won’t do. We can’t afford this industry.
But let’s back to Mr. Howard’s comments regarding our work in Texas. He says we are missing out on millions in tax revenue and there are new schools and other improvements. I don’t think so. Hopkins, Lamar, Red River – all gave tax breaks; some jurisdictions gave complete breaks for 10 years.
And in Franklin County, our school system was planning to grant the breaks, but we got hold of the internal memo passed to school board members (see attached). The memo covers the applications for tax breaks submitted by Samsung - operating Lupinas 1 and 2 - (South Korea) and Enel - operating Stockyard (Italy) and so we end up with the school reporting less than $14 Million in actual revenue that we could retain in Franklin County spread out over 18 years.
We didn’t even get $1 Million per year, and we put our entire county at peril. The school board president voted for the breaks; three or four jobs (all less than $50,000 annual salary) pledged; no questions for plans to cover 8,000 acres in our tiny county with over 1 million solar panels or to enclose the acreage with over 34 miles of chain link fencing topped with wire installation of over 100,000 lithium batteries…. No. We don’t know the consequences.
We are not alarmists. We don’t want a tornado spreading toxic debris over our countryside. Look at what 65-mile per hour winds have done in Cunningham in March. We don’t want a lithium battery explosion (look at the recent fires at Moss Landing in California). We can’t afford the destruction of our land to benefit foreign developers with profits shipped overseas. Go back to sheep country Mr. Howard and stop harassing the people whose lives and livelihoods are at peril because of your activities.
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04/25/2025 post
Here is SB819 which has passed the Texas Senate. Wind and solar and batteries have no regulation in Texas. They do what they please. They send money overseas. They destroy our land and they do not have to clean up their toxic wastes after storms or at end of life. Read the proposed regulation. If the industry can't operate under these rules, we don't want them in Texas in any event. Contact Austin: tell the members of the Texas House: vote yes for SB819. Protect Texas and Texans.
Please share. https://youtu.be/59NJ_bNvELo
https://www.house.texas.gov/SB 819 is now in the Texas House and needs to be passed through the House Committee on State Affairs. Contact the committee members - https://house.texas.gov/committees/committee/450
contact members of the Texas House
ask for regulation of the unregulated industry. 04/25/2025