...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.

Wind turbine makers face a ``major challenge'' getting equipment due to surging demand and probably won't be able to cut delivery times for three years, said Suzlon Energy Ltd., India's biggest wind farm construction company. Lead times to supply wind turbines, which have reached at least 15 months, will take time to reduce as suppliers clear order backlogs and add an ``unprecedented'' amount of new capacity, Andre Horbach, Amsterdam-based chief executive officer at Suzlon, said today in Melbourne. Suzlon has a $3.5 billion order backlog, he said.

Energias de Portugal plans to monetize about 650 MW of tax equity credits by the end of 2007 that it gained through its acquisition of Horizon Wind Energy from Goldman Sachs in July, Antonio Mexia, EDP CEO, told Platts Friday. On the eve of its $3-billion acquisition of Horizon Wind, EDP monetized the 722 MW of Horizon's operational wind farms by selling them for $700 million in deal facilitated by a Citigroup-led group of banks.

Clipper Windpower Plc, the partner of BP Plc in U.S. wind-energy projects, fell to an 11-month low in London trading because a faulty component will lead to a delay in shipments. ...Production of Clipper's 2.5-megawatt Liberty wind turbine has been hampered by problems relating to the supply of externally-sourced components. The company forecast a first-half loss after turbine production was ``constrained'' by difficulties in obtaining parts. ``They have slipped up on quality issues twice,'' said John-Marc Bunce, an analyst at London-based Ambrian Partners Ltd. ``This could potentially be damaging to their sales ability going forward.'' Bunce lowered his recommendation on Clipper to ``sell'' from ``hold.''

Driven by rising demand for renewable energy sources, the world wind energy market is expected to grow at gutsy speed to generate over 360 thousand megawatts of energy by the end of 2015. Further, harnessing the power of the wind will generate approximately 12% of the world's electricity by the year 2020.

EDP Energias de Portugal said its US-based subsidiary Horizon Wind Energy has agreed to develop wind power projects with a consortium comprising JP Morgan, ABN Amro and Morgan Stanley. EDP said the consortium will invest about 700 mln usd and the portfolio of projects will have an installed capacity of 722 MW, according to a filing with stock market regulator CMVM. The company added that the deal, which comes in the wake of the acquisition of US-based wind power company Horizon, will allow EDP to get the production tax credits linked to the wind power production of the projects and the depreciation of the Horizon wind parks.

The race to build new sources of alternative energy from the wind is running into a formidable obstacle: not enough windmills...Numerous wind-power projects from Virginia to California have been stalled due to the shortage. But for some renewable-energy companies in Europe, where wind power has been in vogue for almost two decades, the logjam is a lucrative opportunity. These firms anticipated a shortage of turbines and locked in orders with makers. They're now using their considerable buying power to gobble up smaller utilities in the U.S. that couldn't otherwise get their hands on turbines.

CHEERLEADERS for renewable energy are fond of pointing out that patches of desert receive enough energy each year from sunlight to power the entire world. But few deign to explain how the construction of the millions of solar cells required to convert that energy into electricity would be financed. Utility bosses and policymakers tend to dismiss wind and solar power as noble but expensive distractions, sustainable only through lavish subsidies. But new studies suggest that renewables might not be as dear as sceptics suspect...These figures, of course, rely on all sorts of questionable assumptions.

GE Energy Financial Services, a division of GE, and Theolia announced today the completion of a previously announced strategic relationship. The alliance is to significantly increase Theolia's wind generation portfolio in Europe, bring it additional capital to fund growth and give it access to additional wind project development opportunities. All necessary corporate and regulatory approvals have now been obtained, including those of Theolia's shareholders and the French financial regulator.

LISBON -(Dow Jones)- Portuguese utility Energias de Portugal SA (EDP.LB) Tuesday said it has finalized the purchase of U.S. wind power company Horizon Wind Energy LLC from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS). "The final price of the transaction was set at an enterprise value of $2.74 billion for Horizon, already including the capital expenditures supported by Goldman Sachs between the end of 2006 and today," EdP said in a statement.

MADRID, June 28 (Reuters) - Acciona (ANA.MC: Quote, Profile, Research) has acquired U.S. wind power projects from EcoEnergy, it said on Thursday, confirming a media report which said the Spanish building and energy group planned to expand its American business further. A spokeswoman for the company declined to disclose the value of the deal, but newspaper Expansion said analysts expected the acquisition to cost several million dollars.

From Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to E.ON, the world's largest companies are investing in wind power, the best-performing energy in the past year. Led by Vestas Wind Systems and Iberdrola of Spain, utilities and governments in the United States, China and Europe will spend as much as $150 billion on wind projects in the next five years, according to CLSA Research. Lawmakers are providing financial incentives because windmills are non-polluting and cost less than solar projects. "Wind has the biggest potential to meet renewable energy targets over the next decade, compared with solar and biofuels," said Philippe de Weck, who started the Pictet Clean Energy fund last month for Pictet in Geneva.

Since the extension of the production tax credit, European wind companies have been keener on investing in the U.S. market. Several of the largest turbine producers are now selling to U.S. developers for projects, and opening offices and manufacturing plants in the United States. The federal production tax credit was extended for two years in August 2005 by President Bush. It was set to expire on Dec. 31, 2007, but was extended as one of Congress' last acts and will now run through Dec. 31, 2008. The PTC provides a 1.5 cent per kilowatt hour credit, or 1.9 cents when inflation-adjusted, to energy facilities during the first 10 years of operation.

MILAN, Italy, May. 11 (UPI) -- In order to continue its high rate of growth, the wind industry has many opponents to convert and obstacles to overcome. From siting to operation, wind project developers face a barrage of challenges. First, though regulations vary, you can't put a wind turbine within a certain distance of an area of national, historic or natural value. Also, unless residents are offered a share of the project, locals sometimes oppose them, citing aesthetic concerns.

WASHINGTON - New worries about the environment, technology advances and tax break extensions are empowering European wind energy companies to try their luck in the United States. The United States has led the world in installing new wind turbines for the past two years, but it still ranks behind Germany and slightly below Spain in wind power production, according to the Global Wind Energy Council. Now America's renewed embrace of policies to encourage energy alternatives has led companies with years of experience in Denmark, Germany and Spain to invest in this country, challenging both the U.S. market leaders and environmental opposition to building giant turbines.

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil majors love to boast about their renewable energy activities but the glossy advertisements showing windmills and solar panels often mask modest investments and even skepticism. The companies say their investments show they are doing their part to help fight climate change. Environmentalists counter that the spending is inadequate and aimed solely at deflecting criticism away from the role that burning oil and gas plays in global warming.

Earlier this week, Goldman Sachs more than doubled its money by selling Horizon Wind Energy, a developer and operator of wind power generation, for at least $2.15 billion to Energias de Portugal. Goldman had bought Horizon in 2005 for less than $1 billion. The deal will help diversify the renewables portfolio of state-controlled EDP, which transmits electricity to around 5.9 million customers in Portugal and 3 million in Brazil, and it will bring the company's wind operations up to 3,800 megawatts of power.

THESE should be heady times for Vestas, a Danish firm that makes more than a quarter of the world's wind turbines. The wind business is booming, and the company said last week that it had swung into profit in 2006, thanks to an 8% rise in revenue. But there is "significant unexploited production capacity", Vestas says, due to shortages of high-quality turbine components. Other companies grumble about a lack of gearboxes and bearings. Wind firms' worries echo those in the solar-power business, which is also booming but where a shortage of polysilicon has hampered growth. Silicon is made from sand, which is abundant, but there are not enough refineries to turn it into solar-grade polysilicon. As a result, prices for silicon contracts have more than doubled, to $70 or $80 per kilogram, in the past three years, says Jesse Pichel, an analyst at Piper Jaffray. In both industries demand has rocketed and supply cannot keep up. The wind business is growing by more than 30% a year worldwide, with America leading the way. (This week Energias de Portugal became the latest European utility to invest in American wind farms, with the $2.2 billion purchase of Horizon Wind Energy.) And when a solar incentive scheme took hold in Germany in 2004-05, demand in Europe roughly doubled, says Ron Kenedi of Sharp, the biggest solar-cell maker.

Energias de Portugal (EDP) said it has agreed to buy U.S. wind-park company Horizon Wind Energy from Goldman Sachs to enter the U.S. market and strengthen its position in renewable energy. EDP did not give a value for the deal, but said the equity of Horizon totaled about $2.15 billion and it has debt of around $180 million. The acquisition would be adjusted for investments, which are estimated at $600 million, EDP said.

A proposed Eclipse Energy wind farm off the shores of England's Walney Island will be delayed due to shortages of wind turbines. Many of the large wind turbine manufacturers in Europe, particularly Denmark and Germany, have been sending parts to the growing number of developers in the United States, the North-West Evening Mail reported. According to Ian Hattan, managing director of Eclipse Energy, the project, involving a natural gas field and wind farm hybrid, will be delayed at least a year. Eclipse wanted to contract the labor and the turbines by the end of the year but incentives in the United States, like the extended production tax credit, have tied up supplies. Hattan said that kits for the 30 turbines are supposed to be available next after October 2010. In the meantime, the company will begin work on the two gas fields, which are expected to be operational by 2009. Once the project is complete, it's expected to deliver consistent supplies of electricity, both wind and gas powered, to an offshore platform that would send electricity through a cable to the national grid.