BP buys wind power firm Orion

London, 4 January: Oil giant BP has acquired US wind-power developer Orion Energy, a Californian company that is developing 30 projects with a potential capacity of more than 6,000MW.

The purchase brings BP Alternative Energy's total development portfolio up to approximately 15,000MW, all of which is in the US. Last year, it added 6,500MW of wind farm projects through a $98 million acquisition of Greenlight Energy and 2,015MW via a deal with Clipper Windpower.

"We now have a strong pipeline of wind-power projects," a BP spokesman in London said. He expected the first of these projects to begin producing power this year. BP Alternative Energy intends to own and operate the projects once they are running, he said.

Orion president Michael Haas said: "We chose BP because of the company's long-standing commitment to find practical solutions to climate change, its financial strength and proven ability to develop long-term energy projects, and BP's significant presence in the traded US electricity markets," said.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.