Texas coastal wind farms advance despite critics - Reuters

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Texas coastal wind farms advance despite critics
Thu Oct 18, 2007 8:24pm EDT

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Two companies developing more than
600 megawatts of wind generation along the Texas coastline
aren't daunted by threats of hurricane damage or opposition
from environmentalists and powerful ranching interests,
executives said Thursday.

PPM Energy, a U.S subsidiary of Iberdrola's Scottish Power
unit, and Babcock & Brown are developing two wind farms in
Kenedy County, a thinly populated county south of Corpus
Christi. Both companies expect to produce power by the end
of 2008.

The Texas Public Utility Commission on Wednesday blocked
a coalition of environmental groups, backed by the powerful
King Ranch interests of South Texas, from intervening in a
case related to the sitting of a transmission line to move
power from the two coastal wind farms to the Texas grid.

-snip-

Some environmental groups have complained that coastal
wind turbines may interfere with migrating birds, but
Calaway said radar testing on its property show that most
birds fly at least 2,000 feet above the ground, well above
spinning turbines.

-snip-

http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSN1818771120071019