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A company seeking to place a wind hub and wind farm on Pleasure Island received the go-ahead to enter the property to conduct surveys and field investigations.

Diligence Offshore Services LLC was approved for the temporary right of entry of the Pleasure Island property Tuesday.

The resolution to allow the company access to the site was approved in a 6 to 1 vote with Mayor Pro Tem Doneane Beckcom casting the dissenting vote.

Beckcom said she has been doing research into the permits required for a wind hub/wind farm and has acquired information from the EPA, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; she questioned if the company is required to have permits to perform the survey and field investigation work.

Sherry Vital, assistant city attorney, said that in discussion with company representatives testing may need to be done for EPA and TCEQ but she is unsure if permits are needed for the surveys and field investigations. Title checks, she said, have shown the property is owned by the city of Port Arthur.

Beckcom moved to table the issue due to Vital not knowing if Diligence needed permits prior to the survey, the motion failed.

Interim City Attorney James Black explained that Harry Crawford with Diligence asked the city for permission to enter the property “they think they would like to use or determine if they’re able to use it.”

“We have not looked into any of his permitting. We don’t have any idea what permits he’s required to have. He’s merely asking if he can come onto the property and have a survey of Metes and Bounds prepared by his surveyor,” Black said.

Black said this does not mean the city is entering into any type of agreement with Diligence for future development, this only allows him to make the survey to determine if it’s what they need to use.

Diligence Offshore Services LLC of Houston is working on plans to develop a Port Arthur Offshore Wind Hub and Wind Farm on Pleasure Island, according to information from the city.

“The project will require the company to lease a 600-acre tract of raw land and energy areas sited inside the Sabine Lake. The purpose of the project is to create a steady stream of renewable energy in the region and contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions,” as stated in the resolution.

The site of the proposed Wind Hub and Wind Farm are toward the south side of the Island. The 600 acre area of the project runs from a section off of Texas 82 and backs up to the South Levee Road area.

The plans also show a proposed receiving area of more than 37 acres of land off Texas 82 and the Intracoastal Canal and a proposed transfer area, also off Texas 82 at approximately 13 acres of land.

Officials with Diligence made a presentation to City Council on April 9 regarding the 600 acre tract of land and up to 20 site specific wind energy areas in Sabine lake along with other rights of ways and rights of use easements, according to information from the city.

Organizers Harry and Paulette Crawford first announced the project in August 2023 touting it as the first independently black-owned, deep-water facility and manufacturing site that was choosing Pleasure Island as its home.