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Port Arthur City Council votes to approve a lease for Diligence Offshore Services LLC in a 4-2 vote.

The land lease is planned to be used to construct 15 wind turbines.

The vote comes after various members of the community voiced their concerns and support for the wind farms. The vote is for leasing about 2,000 acres of land and not the construction of the wind turbines. The construction of the turbine still must pass various federal regulations.

The meeting began with a vote on the resolution for Diligence to be able to lease over 2,000 acres of land. Councilmember Beckom called a point of order to address the crowd that had gathered for the meeting. 

Before citizens were allowed to comment on the vote members of the council voiced their opinion on why they were voting either for or against the resolution. 

“The way that the contract is written is not in the best interest of the city of Port Arthur,” said Councilmember Everfield. “The way that the lease agreement has been written is not in the best interest of the city of Port Arthur. We’ve left money on the table that we need and we need to make sure that we are being fair and just with ourselves.” 

Supporters of the resolution on the city council made their arguments as well stating that the wind farm would benefit the city in the long term and that the resolution was not to allow the construction of the wind turbines but to lease the land where they may be built. 

“For me, the decision that I will cast my vote for on today, comes down to three things as I see it,” said Councilmember Frank. “First of all, I ask the question, does it bring growth and revenue to our city? The second question that I want answered is does it meet all of the standards contractually for our city? And then for me, that third question that I asked as well, does the property come back to us, if the project is not done? Those questions have been answered and I will cast my vote accordingly.”

Mayor Thurman Bartie did not speak on the resolution before allowing the audience to speak.

The meeting saw various citizens make their case for and against the wind farm including Kyle Kimball, President of the Port Arthur Area Shrimping Association, Hilton Kelly, Award-winning environmental activist in Port Arthur, and the CEO of Diligence Offshore Services.

Each person was given 3 minutes to speak and address their concerns. 

The wind farm has been a point of contention for the Port Arthur community since its conception in August 2023. Critics of the project have stated concerns that the wind farm will affect fishing and shrimping in the area along with the possibility of killing migratory birds in the area. 

“As somebody that lives on Pleasure Island, I can tell you I don’t want a big windmill sticking outside of my house but more than that, it’s about the math,” said Sean Clifford. “So these people that build ’em after they break and they can no longer be fixed without replacing them.

Who foots that bill? The cities do. And these guys don’t do this because they’re just gonna hand a big pile of money over to the cities. They do things like this because they’re gonna put a big pile of money in their pockets. That’s just a fact. So before we get all high and mighty that this is a great project, really think about the numbers and the math because the last thing we need is to line our Gulf Coast with windmills that are gonna drive everybody away from here.” 

Supporters of the turbines have been adamant about the possibility of new jobs and more income for the city. The supporters also argued against claims that the turbines would harm the environment as the city is already home to various refineries and LNG’s. 

“I remember seeing spill after spill happen in the Gulf of Mexico and watching the oil drift into these estuaries and whatnot,” said Hilton Kelley. “Nobody said a mumbling word, but now we are talking about a wind turbine, a wind turbine that’s gonna have underground cables. Yes, but what about all these industries that dump every day? And if anybody knows anything about the industry, and when EPA came about to help protect human health and to protect the estuaries and our wildlife and our forest and our air, it was 1970. I was born in 1960. prior to 1970, I grew up in west Port Arthur, smelling the sulfur. I remember kids with sores on their arms. I remember the kids with asthma couldn’t breathe. I know about the number of people that have died from cancer.”

Supporters of the wind farm protested during the Feb. 25 city council meeting emphasizing that the reason the leasing of the land on Pleasure Island had taken so long was due to racism against Diligence Offshore. According to its website, the company is the first black-owned renewable energy company in the US.

“If it was a situation where we were gonna hurt people, we wouldn’t be here,” said Harry Crawford, CEO of Diligence Offshore Services.” We haven’t been in business as long as we have over 25 years killing people. I heard Mr. Clifford say that there are people out here that, all they are doing is putting money in their pockets. Well, we came here to do business with you today.”

Crawford proceeded to take a wad of money out of his briefcase and place it on the speaking podium.

“The first year’s rent is $227,300, here it is in case someone is worried about the check bouncing,” Crawford said.  

A vote was called after everyone in the room had a chance to speak their mind. 

A roll call vote was requested by Councilmember Beckom. The council members voted as follows. 

 

Councilmember Beckom: No

Councilmember Doucet: Yes

Councilmember Frank: Yes

Councilmember Everfield: No

Councilmember Louis: Yes

Mayor Bartie: Yes

Councilmember Kinlaw was absent from the vote.

 

There is no current timeline for the construction of the wind turbines as of publication date.