Central Texas News

A Caldwell County state House representative is sponsoring one of two bills aimed at giving local residents and officials, particularly parks and wildlife proponents, options to curtail renewable energy construction in certain West Texas counties.

House Bill 783, sponsored by John Cyrier (R-Lockhart), seeks to provide Texas Parks and Wildlife Department the power "to manage the potential effects of wind-powered energy devices on protected lands so that the natural and cultural values of protected lands continue for the benefit of present and future generations." The department's authority would be limited to Val Verde and neighboring counties.

HB 783 will ban wind farm construction in the Devils River State Natural Area. The legislation also would impose a civil penalty. The area covered by HB 783 includes Sutton County, where Devils River Conservancy is fighting construction of the proposed Chinese-owned Blue Hills Wind Farm in the Devils River Valley near Laughlin Air Force Base.

The idea behind Cyrier's bill appears to have bipartisan support. Freshman State Rep. Eddie Morales (D-Eagle Pass) is sponsor of House Bill 623, legislation that will give Val Verde County Commissioners Court power to designate certain unincorporated areas for wind energy production.

Laughlin Air Force Base will provide input about those areas where wind energy sites could be built and areas not designated by the commissioners court and Air Force base would be off-limits for wind energy sites, according to the legislation.

Cyrier, a fourth-term Republican who represents the 17th House District, introduced HB 783. He was was re-elected in November, taking more than 63% of the vote, soundly defeating Democratic challenger Madeline Eden.  

The 17th District includes the counties of Bastrop, Caldwell, Lee, Gonzales and Karnes.

This isn't the first time Cyrier has supported legislation involving the state's parks. In fall 2019, when Cyrier was still chairman of the Committee on Culture, Recreation, and Tourism, he supported legislation to place Proposition 5 on that November's ballot.

Proposition 5 was written to amend the Texas Constitution to dedicate a portion of sporting goods sales tax to provide reliable, long-term funding to the state's parks and historical sites from existing state revenue. It overwhelmingly passed in November 2019 with more than 88% of Texas voters approving the measure.