British Telecom plans 250 MW of wind farms at UK sites

British telecoms giant BT plans to develop some 250 MW of wind farms at some of its sites throughout the UK. The £250 million of wind projects will generate up to 25% of its electricity needs by 2016. The BT group is one of the country's largest electricity users, consuming 0.7% of UK electricity. The projects will be financed externally. The company is in discussions with a prospective partner with wind energy development expertise and a number of potential investors to form a joint venture, with BT retaining a minority ownership and contracting to buy the output of the projects. It says it is identifying high wind sites on or next to its land. It has already applied for consent for wind measurement masts at its Goonhilly satellite earth station in Cornwall, Wideford Hill radio station in Orkney and Scousburgh radio station in Shetland, north of Scotland. Subject to securing planning consents, BT expects its projects to provide a total installed generating capacity of around 100 MW by 2012, equivalent to around fifty wind turbines, with the remaining 150 MW targeted by 2016. BT follows in the footsteps of a number of UK large industrial players who have opted for lucrative on-site wind generation.