International LL.M. Students Get Firsthand Experience of Wind Industry

On November 9, 2018, students in the 2018-2019 LL.M. Program at The University of Texas School of Law got firsthand experience of the wind industry. The students, many of whom are currently taking a course on wind law, made a four-hour trip from Austin to Sweetwater. When they arrived in Sweetwater, they were met by Rod Wetsel, a recognized leader in energy law and a former adjunct professor at The University of Texas School of Law. The students had attended a master class on global perspectives on wind law taught by Wetsel two weeks earlier. The wind tour served as an opportunity for the students to complement what they had learned in the classroom with onsite training. They also got the chance to network with wind energy attorneys in West Texas.

First, they visited the Leeward Wind Energy (Sweetwater Wind Farm I). In the O&M building, they listened to a presentation on wind turbine operation by C.J. Holder, the project manager, as well as instructions for viewing computer monitoring and equipment. After being issued hard hats and safety glasses, the students went on a tour of the wind farm, including the inside of an operational wind turbine. They then got to ask Mr. Holder and other company personnel questions about wind turbine operation.

After leaving the wind farm, they visited 69 Ranch. The ranch has over 100 wind turbines covered by the one of the first wind leases in Nolan County. At 69 Ranch, the students listened to presentations by Ken Becker, the director of Sweetwater Enterprise for Economic Development, Ms. Dickson, and other local landowners in the surrounding wind projects. Mr. Becker spoke to the students about the impact of wind energy on the Sweetwater and West Texas Economy. Students also got to network with attorneys and others involved in wind energy over a BBQ lunch sponsored by Mr. Wetsel’s firm, Wetsel, Carmichael & Allen, L.L.P.

The wind tour concluded with a driving tour to observe E.On’s Roscoe Wind Project, the world’s third largest.

According to Anna Mauro, the 2018-2019 MD Anderson Foreign Judge Fellow from Germany, “It was great to get an idea of how a wind farm works in practice and to see these people in Sweetwater are to their profession and their community.”

Evert Sanchez, a 2018-2019 CONACYT-FUNED-SENER Hydrocarbons Scholar from Mexico, stated “The visit to the Sweetwater Wind Farm was a unique an motivating experience for me as an energy lawyer. My country is now experiencing a transition from fossil fuels to clean energy sources for the production of electricity, and the visit to Sweetwater helped me realize the enormous potential and benefits resulting from wind farms, not only for landowners but also for neighboring communities.”

Eniola Opasina, a 2018-2019 Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation Scholar from Nigeria, said “Through the Training with Prof. Wetsel, I was able to learn about the history of wind projects, how wind projects are structured in the United States, its contributions to the environment and the challenges faced by wind developers when attempting to develop wind projects. At the tour, I was able to see the wind turbines first-hand and interact with the landowners on the environmental benefits and economic development provided by wind projects in the Sweetwater area of Texas.”

This event was funded in part with generous support from the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation.