GE invests in US, European wind farms, eyes India
Source: Reuters
(Recasts, adds new details throughout) By Scott Malone BOSTON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - General Electric Co. <GE.N> has reached the halfway point of its goal to have a $3 billion renewable energy portfolio, with a pair of wind farm deals in the United States and Europe. The world's second-largest-company by market capitalization sees India as a likely next target for investment, a GE official said on Thursday. GE Energy Financial Services has agreed to invest $270 million in six wind farms across the United States. It also said it would take a stake of up to 22 percent in French wind farm firm Theolia. <TEO.PA> "The number has been moving up nicely, we're now at a little more than $1.75 billion" in renewable-energy assets, said Kevin Walsh, managing director for renewable energy at GE Energy Financial Services, in a phone interview. That's up from under $1 billion in renewable energy assets last year. GE's renewable portfolio, about 60 to 70 percent of which is in the United States, also includes solar energy farms and projects to generate electricity through water power and geothermal energy. Walsh also said that India would be a likely next investment point. "We've got ambitions outside of (the United States and Europe) as well, in Asia, for example, India," Walsh said. "Probably our most likely entry point in India would be to partner with some locals there." In the United States, investors last year put about $4 billion into new electricity-generating wind farm projects, boosting capacity by about 27 percent, according to the American Wind Energy Association. Nationwide, wind farms can generate about 11,603 megawatts of electricity -- enough to power about 3 million average homes. DEALS DETAILED In the United States, GE said it would buy about 70 percent of the Class A shares of the six wind farms, which are capable of generating about 410 megawatts of electricity -- enough to power about 100,000 homes -- and are located in California, Illinois, New Mexico and Pennsylvania. GE, which trails oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp. in market capitalization, said that a subsidiary of U.S. bank Wachovia Corp. <WB.N> would hold the balance of the Class A shares of the facilities. GE said that Australian investment firm Babcock & Brown Ltd. <BNB.AX>, which currently owns the facilities, would retain ownership of the Class B shares. In Europe, Theolia said it would acquire GE's European wind farms, with a total power generation capacity of about 165 megawatts. In return, GE received up to a 22 percent stake in the company. GE, which also makes electricity-generating wind turbines, aims to generate about $20 billion in revenue by 2010 through energy-efficient "Ecomagination" products.
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