Oct. 19, 2007 BT is planning to build wind farms throughout the U.K. in the biggest expansion of renewable energy outside the power generation sector, according to the Financial Times.

The wind farms, slated for completion in 2016, are expected meet about a quarter of BT's current electricity needs. BT says it will contract with electricity companies to build the facilities and then sell the power to the company.

To expedite the permit process, most of the wind farms will be built on current BT industrial sites. In recent years, many companies operating in the U.K. have built turbines on their sites, including GlaxoSmithKline, Nissan, Pirelli, and Ford, the article reports.

BT says it started exploring green energy options when customers began asking questions about its carbon footprint. "Our customers are very clear they want us to develop products and services using clean energy," says Hanif Lalani, BT's group finance director.

In 2004, BT pledged to purchase all its energy from green sources withini three years.