Posted on 05/25/2016 1:52:02 PM PDT by Lorianne
An airport boom is underway in southwest Oklahoma. But don't expect to be in long security lines or grab a coffee while you wait for a flight.
These are airstrips registered with the Federal Aviation Administration for private use. Most are turf runways mowed out of a pasture. Some even have a wind sock. But they have no lights or other nighttime warnings.
The rush to register airstrips is part of the fallout from a state law passed last year that put in siting regulations on wind turbines. Senate Bill 808 said the turbines had to be at least 1.5 nautical miles — 9,100 feet — from a school, hospital or airport. The law went into effect in November.
Stay Informed: Read all the coverage from the Oklahoma state capitol
Rural landowners who don't want wind developments nearby are using the law to push the turbines back. Privately, some wind industry representatives accuse them of blocking wind farms with what they call "shamports."
More than two dozen private air strips have been certified by the FAA so this year. At least 15 of them are near Marlow in Stephens County.
NextEra Energy Resources plans a 120-turbine project in Stephens and Grady counties. The Rush Springs project is expected to be complete by the end of the year. Further north, NextEra is building an expansion to the Minco wind farm in Canadian and Caddo counties. The company declined repeated requests for comment.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsok.com ...
The bureaucratic and cost barriers for doing this in California is LEGENDARY —years, thoughsands of dollars, many appearances before airplane-hating bureacrats, etc.
It’s damned near impossible.
Kudos to OK.
Ha, that’s one way to slap them.
We flew from Colorado to Wisconsin two years ago. We were stunned by the number of these windmills! They went on for miles after miles with empty spots for more. Probably less than a quarter of them were actually turning. What a awful, horrible blight.
Good for these farmers.
I was stunned driving across Iowa last year and saw windmills on every horizon. There use to be rolling fields of crops to the edge of the earth.
Now that view is gone.
We just had our dirt strip in Arizona certified by the FAA and got an official identifier. It was EASY!!
The kill birds, they burst into flames, they cost more to make and put up than they'll ever return in terms of energy and they produce noise that drives nearby residents crazy.
Success!
“Privately, some wind industry representatives accuse them of blocking wind farms with what they call “shamports.””
Let’s see...reps from an industry entirely unprofitable but for subsidies is throwing around the word “sham”?
Only in America can you plow an airstrip into your cornfield which receives an ethanol subsidy to keep the subsidized wind mills at bay.
“Only in America can you plow an airstrip into your cornfield which receives an ethanol subsidy to keep the subsidized wind mills at bay.”
hah! Nice. Don’t forget that you can also get paid to not plant anything in the field that is an airstrip.
I once planted a kiss on a pretty blond at then National Airport. Does that count?
I once planted a kiss on a pretty blond at then National Airport.....Girl or guy?
Back then it was a young woman, Carol, Un. of Missouri. She worked on helping get our POWS in VN humane treatment from the communists.
Her college companion (both testified before Congress on the POW issue), was also cute - Little Anne. Didn’t know here father was the CIC of Taipei Air Station until the night I left for Taiwan. Interestingly, TAS’s communication station was right down the rode from where I stayed in Taipei.
And yes, I did kiss Anne too, many times. Oh those long goodbyes. She was pretty, nice and a lot of fun.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.