Texas Town Uses Wind Power to Support Seniors

In Ozona, Texas, wind turbines are doing more than generating clean electricity. They're helping grandparents stay in their homes.

This town of 2,800 people found an ingenious way to make renewable energy work directly for their community. County officials used Texas tax law to strike deals with wind companies: temporary property tax breaks in exchange for donations to local senior programs.

The wind farms don't power Ozona itself. That electricity goes to the grid for use elsewhere, just like the oil and gas that's been pumped from this region for decades. But unlike those finite fossil fuels, the wind keeps blowing and the community benefits keep coming.

The money goes exactly where it's needed most. Wind companies fund the local senior center's Valentine's Day dances, bingo games, and daily nutritious lunches. They donate to Helping Hands, the Meals on Wheels program serving homebound older residents.

That support arrived at a critical moment. Federal funding for senior meal programs has been slashed following the end of pandemic support and recent budget cuts. Last September, a $20,000 donation from a wind company arrived just in time to keep Helping Hands running.

The tax abatement deals last up to 10 years under Texas law. After that period ends, the wind companies pay their full property taxes and the county gets a reliable, long-term revenue boost.

Crockett County has long depended on oil and gas money to fund local services. But those wells are aging out, nearing the end of their productive lives. Wind offers something oil never could: a revenue source that won't run dry.

The Ripple Effect

Other communities are watching and learning. Medina County, Texas, used similar tax deals to get data center companies to invest in road improvements where residents worried about increased traffic.

The approach isn't limited to Texas either. Other states have similar tax code provisions that local governments could use to make new industries invest in community needs.

For Ozona's seniors, the impact is deeply personal. The funding helps them age in place in this remote, blue-collar community rather than being forced to move away from the place they've always called home.

Texas has led the nation in wind energy for nearly two decades, but Ozona shows what happens when communities get creative about how that industry serves local needs beyond just electricity generation.

The wind keeps turning, the seniors keep gathering, and a rural Texas town has found a path forward that honors both progress and its people.