Aug 7 2008
Babcock & Brown, a leader in wind energy, today announced that a federal court in Texas dismissed a final lawsuit, clearing the path to bring wind energy to South Texas.
Babcock & Brown's wind farm on the Texas Gulf Coast, which will provide enough clean and renewable energy to power 80,000 Texas homes, will be completed and operational later this year. 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.
"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 winds of South Texas are one of the largest and most attractive renewable energy resources in the country, representing a tremendous clean and never-ending power supply," said John Calaway, Babcock & Brown's chief development officer for North America. "Our Gulf Wind Farm will provide critical power when it is needed most because the coastal winds in South Texas blow the hardest at the same time our state's demand for electricity peaks."
The development of Babcock & Brown's Gulf Wind Farm has created approximately 300 construction jobs, in addition to approximately 20 ongoing permanent and maintenance positions. The wind farm will also provide significant annual tax benefits to the local area. Once operational, the wind farm will consist of 118 wind energy turbines with a total output capacity of more than 283 megawatts (MW).
Babcock & Brown currently operates more than 20 wind farms throughout the United States, including one of the largest wind farms in the country, located in Sweetwater, Texas. In addition, Babcock & Brown has more than 25 wind energy projects across the country in various stages of development. In Texas, Babcock & Brown has offices in Houston, Austin and Dallas, where the company's 24-7 wind farm monitoring headquarters is located.