Austin Real Estate Blog

Two Kenedy County wind plants will go on, as planned, thanks to a federal judge’s dismissal of a case against them. Judge Lee Yeakal of the U.S. District Court in Austin announced on August 4^th that he would be dismissing the case that was to be heard later in the month. It is unknown as yet what the reasoning behind the dismissal was, but there are no approvals needed to place such plants on private land, as was the situation in this case.

The Coastal Habitat Alliance had filed the suit against PPM Energy and Texas Wind, as they felt that the companies had not done enough research and investigation as to the effects of the plants on local wildlife habitats. This suit was their second attempt to halt the building of these two plants. The first was also dismissed by a judge, but will be appealed. The alliance has not yet decided as to whether they will appeal this dismissal, as well, as the judge has yet to release a statement on his reasoning.

According to the investment group responsible for the project, Australian based Babcock & Brown, their projects are intended to help the environment by providing renewable energy and to minimize damage to habitats and natural resources. The first phase of these wind farms is under construction and slated to be completed by the end of the year, while future additional turbines will be added. The companies involved feel that they have been extremely mindful of their project’s impact and have taken necessary steps to protect the local environment.