Why a Central Texas farmer is on a one-man mission to stop renewable energy

ODESSA — As wind turbines and solar panels spread through farmland in Central Texas, Robert Fleming has made it his calling to stop them.

Four years ago, the 61-year-old convinced a school board in Troy not to approve a tax incentive for a renewable energy company. When Bell County commissioners considered a similar tax break a year later, he showed up to the commissioners court with reinforcements, urging them to reject a company’s request. He failed.

That hasn’t deterred him from his crusade against the industry.

“I didn’t want to give them my hard-earned tax money,” Fleming said. “They have plenty of damn money.”

A fifth-generation farmer and rancher, Fleming said he wants to stop more solar panels and wind turbines from covering more of Texas farmland and displacing agriculture. He doesn’t think county governments or school districts should afford them any tax breaks. And while he could not say his business suffered losses, he said neighboring projects may affect some of his water and soil down the line — issues that he said aren’t taken seriously.

At least one Texas lawmaker is taking Fleming’s concerns seriously. State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, introduced legislation to regulate renewable energy development. It would set hearings, fees and certain distance requirements from property lines. The full Senate approved the bill in April; it awaits a debate in the House.

Landowners, including those in rural Texas, have profited from turning their land over to renewable energy companies, in some instances making enough money to retire. However, resistance to expanding renewables has gained some traction in the areas where the industry has established itself. In East Texas, for example, some residents said they were alarmed at the growing interest in solar and battery facilities that they feared would harm the environment. Other landowners interviewed for this article said they worried about the industry’s growing footprint on land historically used for agriculture.

Solar panels and wind turbines don’t emit greenhouse gases or require continuous drilling for power. But the industry does grapple with a blight issue, particularly from damaged blades and panels.

Today, the farm, Fleming Grain & Cattle, spans thousands of acres in Bell, Falls, Limestone and Freestone counties. The family mostly dedicates its time to the agricultural sector. His wife, Lynn, is a retired Farm Service Agency worker. Dakota, his oldest daughter, works at the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board. His son, Augustus, helps run operations at the farm, which primarily sells corn and cattle.

Much of Fleming’s criticism is based on fears about what could occur to his land and business through his own observations, online research he’s conducted independently and the traffic the industry creates with projects.

Construction clogs the roads with traffic, particularly trucks hauling the panels to the properties. Red-tailed hawks can’t look for rodents to eat on property where solar panels have been installed, he said. Water travels faster to creeks, ditches and tributaries causing flooding and washouts in the area, he said. His land has not flooded because it’s further away.

One solar farm across from his property could cause a flood, he believes. He said he’d been dismissed when he complained to the company, Pine Gate Renewables, about building ditches to retain the water and avoid flooding the surrounding area. He is concerned that water could pick up chemicals in the solar panels and kill his crops, which has not occurred.

“I just pray to goodness that there are no human health effects because of the panels,” he said.

Pine Gate Renewables, in a statement to The Texas Tribune, said that its engineers have been in communication with Flemming about his concerns.

“The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality approved measures that are in place on the project are the most effective for stormwater drainage given the specific topography of the land where the project was built,” a spokesperson said.

Renewable developers who scout the land for projects say the relationship with landowners is crucial, and that surveys and tests are performed before any construction occurs.

Monty Humble, managing director of High Road Clean Energy, a company that finds land for renewable companies, said he looks for property with access to a transmission line. These lines send the electricity generated from the sun and wind to the state’s main grid. Transmission lines cannot be built for specific projects.

First, they negotiate a lease agreement for the amount of land the landowner will dedicate to renewable infrastructure. Then, they will hire a biologist to scout for endangered species. Renewable companies in Texas must follow federal guidelines under the Endangered Species Act, which includes penalties. Killing an endangered animal is considered a felony. The companies survey the land to ensure the projects won’t pose a threat to the environment or wildlife.

The state doesn’t regulate renewable energy companies because it would mean regulating private property, which contradicts the Texas ethos, Humble said. However, all energy projects requiring construction must follow water, air and wildlife laws, including the state’s endangered species act, enforced by the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

“They’ve got to trust us, and they’ve got to want to do the project,” Humble said. “And as a result, we’ll get referrals from landowners, who refer other people in other parts of the state to us because they trust us.”

Humble said he is familiar with Fleming, who declined to lease his land to a renewable project.

Landowners neighboring Fleming said they have not experienced any environmental issues due to the solar panels or their construction, adding that the money from the projects has helped them.

Randall Tate, a 70-year-old retired farmer in Troy, raises cows. He used to grow corn and wheat. His wife, Brenda, is a retired school teacher. The couple owns about 220 acres of land. They leased almost half of it to a solar company in 2023.

The Tates said the company held several meetings with them and other landowners before construction began. During construction, they said, the company had been careful with the land. When construction was finished, the company planted grass to replenish the loss and avoid erosion, which would kill the soil. It keeps sheep in the area to eat it.

The Tates, who no longer grow wheat or corn, said they retired thanks to the revenue they make from the solar panels.

Joe and Loretta Henson, Fleming’s next-door neighbors, own 1,200 acres of land. Solar panels take up about 70 acres of the property. The couple, 87 and 89, agreed to let a company install them five years ago.

They said the company had been responsible with their land, causing little damage and remediating the parts where construction had occurred. It had taken years of planning before anything was built, they said. The Hensons bought a tractor and equipment, including plows, with the money they get from the agreement.

Neither couple experienced flooding or issues with the grass and soil in the parts of their land occupied by renewable infrastructure.

Still, they said they wonder whether the renewable industry is starting to take too much space that could be used to farm.

“It seems like there should be some limit on it,” Loretta said. “I mean, we cannot turn all of our agricultural land to solar.”

In the meantime, Fleming said he will continue to protest renewable energy projects in his hometown and toss any offers he gets in the trash just as he has for the last four years. He’ll scour online social media groups to find landowners who can share in his experience to add it to a binder containing more than a thousand pages of online research.

His most recent advocacy-driven expedition was a testimony he was set to give before a legislative panel. Lawmakers needed to hear from the public regarding Kolkhorst’s bill.

Fleming woke up at 4 a.m. and drove about two hours south to Austin. He wanted to beat the traffic. At the Capitol building, he waited for his turn at the cafeteria. While he waited, he overheard others talking about the testimony. Someone had said landowners opposed to renewables were faking their concern. He left before noon without testifying, offended at the suggestion.

“I’ve been told so many times that all the stuff that we come up with is misinformation just because we read it on the internet,” he said. “I don’t believe it is.”

Eli Hartman contributed.

Disclosure: Advanced Power Alliance has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.