After a century and a half as cordial neighbors, two
of the nation’s biggest ranches find themselves feuding like the Hatfields and
McCoys over wind energy and wildlife and whether the two can coexist. The
storied King and Kenedy ranches, which together cover nearly 1.3 million acres
in sparsely populated south Texas, are at odds over plans to erect 240-plus
wind-powered turbines on the smaller Kenedy property. The structures and their
massive blades can stand 400 feet tall—taller than most 30-story
buildings. The King Ranch, with 825,000 acres near the Texas
Gulf Coast, says the turbines will interfere with migratory birds’ flight
patterns, threaten other wildlife and create an eyesore—though the nearest
highway is nearly 20 miles away. Managers of the charitable
trust and foundation that oversee the Kenedy Ranch—a mere 400,000 acres—are
resisting a public brawl, but the companies leasing their land for the wind
farms say the King Ranch essentially ought to mind its own business. Besides,
they say, they’ve spent two years studying migratory birds’ flight patterns and
are convinced the environmental impact will be minimal. Already, Texas leads the
nation in wind-generated power, and numerous proposed projects are under way.
But none have garnered attention like the Kenedy wind farms—in part because of
the King vs. Kenedy skirmish. Wind farms generate electricity
by using wind to turn giant blades that rotate on turbines, an alternative to
power created by utilities using coal, natural gas and other sources.
King Ranch President Jack Hunt has called for state legislation to
regulate the farms—the lack of such laws governing wind farms making Texas a
favorite spot for potential wind projects. Hunt said he met
with Kenedy Ranch overseers when the wind farms were first proposed a couple of
years ago, hoping to get them to understand they’re "sacrificing the long-term
value of a rare resource for short-term revenue. "But it sort of fell on deaf
ears," he said. Marc Cisneros, who runs the John G. and Marie
Stella Kenedy Memorial Foundation from nearby Corpus Christi, has declined to
shout back. But he said the project on his section of the ranch not only is
environmentally sound but will allow the foundation’s charitable work to
continue in an impoverished pan of the state. Led largely by
Texas, the United States grew its wind-power capacity faster than anyone in the
world in 2005 and 2006, arid wind farms now operate in 36 states. A recent study
for Congress by the National Research Council said wind farms could generate up
to 7 percent of the nation’s electricity in 15 years—up from less than 1 percent
today. That report also said more study was needed on the effect wind farms have
on birds and bats. Besides the skyline of turbines endangering
birds, Hunt bristles the most at the lack of regulation of the turbine-laden
farms. Developers need neither state nor federal approval to erect the towers on
private land. Hunt supported state legislation to require permitting for such
sites, but it failed. Congress also considered such requirements, but nothing
materialized. The word "skirmish" (Para. 3) is closest in meaning to ______.