Austin Energy seeking more wind farm land

Austin City Council members will decide Thursday whether to add another 4,664 acres to Austin Energy's growing stockpile of potential wind farm land.

If approved, the 30-year lease would bring the utility company's total West Texas holdings to 22,000 acres. A spokeswoman for the group said other contingencies must be resolved before turbines actually hit the ground, but construction could begin as early as 2013. The city would pay about $50,000 a year for the land.

The utility company currently supplies about 12 percent of its electricity from renewable sources, mostly wind, but the power is purchased from third parties.

Read the full story in the Austin Business Journal.