Bonner Cohen: Waste from “clean energy” piles up across the U.S.

Long known as the nation’s leading producer of oil, Texas in recent years has also surged to the top of the heap in wind energy, with over 19,000 wind turbines operating in the state.

West Texas and the Panhandle have emerged as the gusty go-to places for putting the Lone Star State at the forefront of what was said to be America’s transition to clean energy. Ground zero for this enterprise is Sweetwater in Nolan County. Located 40 miles west of Abelene, Sweetwater is sometimes called the “Wind Turbine Capital of Texas.” But now the small city and its environs are experiencing the downsides of that distinction. It turns out that clean can be very dirty indeed.