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Friday, August 22, 2008

Path Cleared for Wind Energy Development in South Texas

Houston, United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]

Babcock & Brown announced that a federal court in Texas has dismissed a final lawsuit, clearing the path for the company to bring wind energy to South Texas. The company's planned wind farm on the Texas Gulf Coast, which could provide enough clean and renewable energy to power 80,000 Texas homes, will now be completed and operational later this year.

We were meticulous in the way we approached the development of this wind farm, which we believe will be used as a model for future wind farms around the country.

-- Hunter Armistead, Head of Babcock & Brown's North American Energy Group

The wind farm is located on the property of the Kenedy Memorial Foundation, a non-profit organization that will utilize the royalties to support charitable purposes in South Texas. Once operational, the wind farm will consist of 118 wind energy turbines with a total output capacity of more than 283 megawatts (MW).

"From the initiation of our development efforts with the Kenedy Foundation, Babcock & Brown has been committed to the responsible development of a world-class wind farm for South Texas," said Hunter Armistead, head of Babcock & Brown's North American energy group. "Our intention has always been to deliver the benefits of renewable energy while minimizing any impact to the environment. We were meticulous in the way we approached the development of this wind farm, which we believe will be used as a model for future wind farms around the country."

The Coastal Habitat Alliance had filed the suit in December 2007 to challenge the state’s decision to allow the project to be built without required environmental review and public comment. The group sought possible injunction against the Texas Land Commissioner, the Public Utilities Commision of Texas (PUCT) and Babcock & Brown. The suit was filed a week after the PUC approved plans for a US $60 million transmission line project to be built by AEP Texasthat would connect Babcock & Brown's project to the grid.

Source: Renewableenergyworld.com

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