Britain's only listed wind turbine manufacturer today revealed it could be taken over by the end of the year. ..."Based on transaction size and structure, the new capital provider could range from owning a substantial minority position to acquiring the entire company.

Wind turbine memorial. Illustration: Rob Biddulph Imagine that at the flick of a switch, you could not only turn a light on or off but select which power source you were going to use. Would an eco warrior choose wind power or coal? Surely this is a no-brainer. Not necessarily.

BP is expanding its wind power electricity generation capacity in the United States but is shedding an Indian unit, which has been sold to Green Infra Limited of India. BP said Green Infra Limited purchased its subsidiary, BP Energy India Private Limited, for a total cash-free, debt-free enterprise value of about $95 million.

Dr Nina Pierpoint has warned that living too close to wind turbines can cause heart disease, tinnitus, vertigo, panic attacks, migraines and sleep deprivation in groundbreaking research due to be published later this year. ...To date, the Government and wind companies have denied any health risks associated with powerful noise and vibration produced by wind turbines.

British workers occupying a wind turbine factory in an attempt to prevent its closure have become a cause célèbre for environmentalists, Green MEPs and trade unionists, but the wind lobby in both London and Brussels has condemned the actions of the workers and taken the side of the company.

Royal Dutch Shell has become the second big energy company to abandon the UK wind-energy sector in the last month. ...Shell said: "The focus for new projects will be in North America where we can benefit from the availability of undeveloped wind resources to deliver wind energy at what we expect to be a competitive cost."

BP has dropped all plans to build wind farms and other renewable schemes in Britain and is instead concentrating the bulk of its $8bn (£5bn) renewables spending programme on the US, where government incentives for clean energy projects can provide a convenient tax shelter for oil and gas revenues. The decision is a major blow to the prime minister, Gordon Brown, who has promised to sweep away all impediments to ensure Britain is at the forefront of the green energy revolution. BP and Shell - which has also pulled out of renewables in Britain - are heavily influential among investors.

Scottish & Southern Energy Plc, the U.K.'s second-largest power producer, agreed to buy Irish wind farm operator Airtricity for 1.83 billion euros ($2.7 billion) in cash to add carbon-dioxide free electricity generation. The deal, in which Scottish & Southern will also take over 375 million euros of debt, will probably be completed in the first quarter, Perth, Scotland-based Scottish & Southern said in a statement today.

Clipper Windpower, the Aim-listed, US-based wind turbine manufacturer, today warned that only a handful of its turbines will contribute to this year's earnings. Clipper had previously said revenues from 35 of the 125 turbines produced at its plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, would be recognised in this year's figures. Today, however, it said commissioning delays meant only eight turbines, which were produced late in 2006, would be counted. Revenues and gross profits from the balance would be taken in 2008, the company said.

Tom Murley, head of UK private equity group HgCapital's renewable energy team, has warned clean energy stocks could be about to fall. At a conference held by Financial News last week, he said: "We are at the peak of inflated expectations." ...Murley, who heads the largest team of renewable energy specialists in the UK private equity market, said long-term prospects for quality clean energy companies are bright. But he compared the soaring price of clean energy stocks with the technology bull market of the late 1990s and argued innovation leads to overexuberance in stock markets. This is followed by disillusionment as competing products develop and investors realize profits will disappoint. A steady rise out of the trough follows as quality companies start to make headway.

Irish wind farm operator Airtricity said on Thursday it had decided to sell off its remaining holdings after announcing last month the disposal of its North American operations to Germany's E.ON. Airtricity said in a statement it had undertaken a review of the strategic options for the remainder of its business following the $1.4 billion deal with E.ON. "This review has resulted in a decision to commence the process for the sale of Airtricity Holdings Ltd," the statement said. "The process is due to be completed by mid 2008."

Airtricity's €1.4bn sale of its North American subsidiary could prove to have been perfectly timed with the Irish firm looking set to exit its investment before opposition to wind power gathers momentum. With opposition to the burgeoning wind farm business gathering pace, industry experts are questioning whether German-buyer Eon will ever justify the massive price it is paying a business still in early stage development. "There has not been much focus on opposition to wind turbines in the States, maybe Airtricity are getting out before it becomes an issue," one consultant said last week.

...more than 100 reporters swarmed to the exchange for a lunch hosted by Iberdrola's chairman, Ignacio Galan, to present the company's strategic plan for the next three years and its quarterly results - the first following the acquisition of Scottish Power earlier in the year. ...During his presentation, Galan noted that because the interest in renewable energy has taken off, demand for turbines is outstripping supply. He said that the link with Gamesa will help ensure Iberdrola has access to the turbines it needs and wants. Gamesa represents 63% of the supply contracts Iberdrola has. ...Moulder at CreditSights said that his concern is that "senior management at Iberdrola do not understand the regulatory regime in the UK. There are certainly managers within the UK who will be experts on regulation, but we get the impression that Spanish managers believe they can lobby politicians to change regulation in other countries (rather like they do in Spain) and if they try this in the US or in the UK they will be in for a shock." Wolfden at Uswitch also has reservations and said the integration between the two companies is still very much "ongoing".He questioned whether the Spaniards have "fully understood the UK market or appreciate quite how competitive it is". He also said that consumers will increasingly demand more services and better service for their money.

Clipper Windpower shares had the wind taken out of their sails this morning after the wind turbine manufacturer revealed problems with the quality of components used in its turbines. Clipper said problems with drivetrain assemblies have temporarily slowed turbine shipments.

Orion Energy, an independent developer of wind energy projects in the USA, has been acquired by BP Alternative Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of BP.

Wind turbine manufacturer Clipper Windpower tumbled from recent highs today after it announced an issue relating to machining tolerances in its gearboxes and a short delay in turbine deliveries. As a result of the issue, the group said it has decided to introduce an additional measurement process during machining to ensure gearbox tolerances are met.

“There's legitimate debate about a couple of segments,” says Keith Raab, boss of Cleantech Venture Network. In some instances, valuations accorded to firms with no profits—and little chance of making any soon—were reminiscent of the excesses of the dotcom bubble. As Douglas Lloyd, of Venture Business Research, puts it, “There's too much money chasing too few opportunities. How is it possible that this many solar companies are going to succeed? They're not.”

A group of entrepreneurs is harnessing the perpetual motion of the ocean and turning it into a commodity in high demand: energy. Right now, machines of various shapes and sizes are being tested off shores from the North Sea to the Pacific — one may even be coming to the East River in New York State this fall — to see how they capture waves and tides and create marine energy.

Within weeks of the Government's Energy Review (1) proposing that planning controls be relaxed to speed up the introduction of wind farms, a new report (2) reveals that badly-sited wind turbines can cause real noise problems for local communities.

..BP's report shows the world is reacting to soaring oil and gas prices by stemming its energy use. In 2005 world energy demand grew by 2.7 per cent, down sharply from 4.4 per cent the previous year....In the US, the world's largest energy consumer, demand actually fell - even though the economy grew by 3.5 per cent. So, for the first time in more than two decades, the US combined above-trend growth with an absolute decline in fuel consumption.