News Letter

Welcome

Welcome to our website and welcome to our newsletter. We enjoyed meeting many of you at our booth on Saturday, May 2, at Founders Day in Emory. We appreciate your encouragement and support.

We will be issuing a newsletter on our website periodically. If you wish to receive a copy of our newsletter directly in your inbox, click here. With our newsletter we will be touching on different topics concerning green energy, health, safety, and the environment.

New to Rains County

In February, we formed our coalition. We are a group of Rains County Citizens—from across the county with a wide variety of interests and backgrounds—who are concerned about green energy installations invading Rains County and Texas.

Our concerns include: 1.) The impact green energy has on our communities and neighborhoods. 2.) Environmental, health, and safety consideration for our people, pets, livestock, and wildlife. 3.) Grid security, reliability, and stability especially in regard to national security with the influx of foreign entities and components in our county and in Texas.

Current Known Active Projects

At this time, there is one solar farm installation in Rains County. It is just west of Point on the south side of US Highway 69 and comprises close to 1,000 acres on property belonging to Barrett and others. It will be connecting to the ERCOT grid any day if it hasn’t already. In the northeast part of the county (Brashear) there is a plan to install a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on land owned by Majewski. It is in the early stages of construction. This BESS is set to connect to the ERCOT grid in 2027.

Is Green Energy Green?

We’ve discovered that green energy is green when it comes to dollars for a select few—the landowner who leases land to the green energy entity and the green energy entity itself. However, green in terms of dollars for the landowner leaves neighbors seeing red. Landowners who lease to green energy entities make the big bucks while neighbors are left holding the bag with decreased property values, increased insurance costs, and residences and property that become difficult to sell.

Not only are the landowner’s neighbors left holding the bag monetarily, but their health, safety, and well-being are put at risk, also. Green energy installations are billed as environmentally friendly sources of energy; however, these installations are not green when it comes to the environment itself.

Data shows solar farm installations will catch fire—sometimes multiple times. With each fire or even hailstorm or tornado who knows how much toxic lead or other toxic chemicals are leached into the air, ground, and water. (See Heavy Metal Toxicity Document) The Boviet solar panels used in the solar-to-grid installation west of Point south of US Highway 69 include lead, aluminum, copper, tin, and silver with their panels according to the Boviet Material Safety Data Sheet.

The Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in the northeast part of the county on Majewski property is scheduled to begin active construction in October of this year. Majewski’s neighbors are quite concerned. As we all should be.

Lithium batteries are prone to overheat and catch fire. A Rains County BESS fire would be catastrophic especially for neighbors; those living within 20-50 miles of the BESS; and those in Dallas and surrounding cities and communities that get drinking water from our lakes—Lake Fork and Lake Tawakoni. Not only will the BESS installation be less than a quarter mile from Elm Creek which discharges into Lake Fork, but the BESS installation will sit over an aquifer that provides water to area neighbors and farms/ranches.

At least 63 BESS fires occurred worldwide between 2011 and 2023 with the United States reporting the highest percentage of those fires. With the 2025 BESS fire in Moss Landing, California, thick smoke covered the area with toxic metals and toxic gases—carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and hydrogen fluoride—being released into the surrounding area. Satellite images showed the plume from that fire reaching as far as 20-50 miles from the Moss Landing BESS. This fire lasted from January 16-January 18, 2025. Area highways were closed and residents were evacuated as toxic debris rained down from the air into the ground and water. People and animals were exposed to toxic emissions. (See Moss Landing Article.)  

BESS fires can last anywhere from several hours to several days–even up to six days–depending on the magnitude of the fire. We have been told that Rains County firefighters would need at least 60,000-120,000 gallons of water to fight a BESS fire. And, we have also been told that there is not enough water in Rains County to fight a BESS fire. The closest HAZMAT team potentially available to help would be from Dallas. It would take them a significant amount of time to get to a BESS fire on Majewski property.

Each resident living within a quarter mile from a BESS is advised by the EPA and CDC to have a respirator for the occurrence of such an incident. In the area near the planned BESS on Majewski property in Northeast Rains County, there are approximately 10 homesteads within a quarter mile. Also, there is a high concentration of homesteads in the surrounding area—many with pets and livestock.

Majewski’s neighbors are concerned. We are concerned, too.

Call to Action

We would like to see a red light put on green energy. We are calling for a moratorium to be placed countywide, statewide, and nationwide on these technologies until all risks, impacts to the communities and harmful consequences associated with these technologies are fully understood, characterized, eliminated, prevented or mitigated to acceptable levels and until appropriate safety regulations and standards implemented.

What You Can Do

1. Pray. Join our Prayer Warrior Team and receive prayer requests by email. Click here.
2. Sign our Petition here.
3. Inform others.
4. Voice your concerns and be heard. Encourage accountability and transparency of renewable energy entities by contacting elected officials about any concerns you have about renewable energy.

Elected Official Contact Information:

County Judge Brent Hilliard, 903-473-5000 ext. 122, brent.d.hilliard@co.rains.tx.us

County Commissioner Jeremy Cook (Precinct 1), 214-202-2416, jeremy.cook@co.rains.tx.us

County Commissioner Mike Willis (Precinct 2), 903-473-5000 ext. 123, mike.willis@co.rains.tx.us

County Commissioner Korey Young (Precinct 3), 903-473-5000 ext. 160, korey.young@co.rains.tx.us

County Commissioner Lori Northcutt (Precinct 4), 903-473-5000 ext. 124, lori.northcutt@co.rains.tx.us

State Representative Cole Hefner (District 5), cole.hefner@house.tx.gov

Austin Office: 512-463-0271, Mt. Pleasant Office: 903-717-8238, Lindale Office: 903-882-3254

State Senator Angela Paxton (District 8), angela.paxton@senate.texas.gov

Austin Office: 512-463-0108, Allen Office: 972-908-3424, Greenville Office: 903-454-2880

Governor Greg Abbott: 512-463-2000

To file a complaint with the Texas Attorney General the link is:

www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/consumer-protection/file-consumer-complaint/filing-complaint- faq

US Senator John Cornyn: Washington DC Office: 202-224-2934, Dallas Office: 972-239-1310

US Senator Ted Cruz: Washington DC Office: 202-224-5922, Dallas Office: 214-599-8749

US Representative Pat Fallon: Washington DC Office: 202-225-6673, Rockwall Office: 972-771-0100

This information was obtained from the Texas Scorecard website, the Rains County website, Senator Cornyn’s website, Senator Cruz’s website, Representative Fallon’s website, and from the Texas Attorney General’s office.