For the Osage, This Century's Fight Is Over Wind Turbines.

The Osage Nation, known for their history of oil wealth and featured in the film "Killers of the Flower Moon," is currently engaged in a legal battle with Italian utility Enel over a wind farm on tribal land in Oklahoma. A federal judge has ruled in favor of the Osage, stating that Enel's subsidiaries trespassed when they built the wind farm, violating the mineral estate held in trust for the tribe. Enel plans to appeal the decision, arguing that they did not intend to interfere with the Osage Nation's sovereignty. The dispute revolves around whether the excavation and crushing of rock for the wind turbines' base constitutes mining that requires an additional lease. The Osage Wind Project has been producing power since 2015 and benefits the community through revenue, rents, and power for homes. The fight between the Osage Nation and Enel highlights the clash between the tribe's history tied to oil wealth and Enel's renewable energy development plans. [Extracted from the article]