(Adds detail throughout)
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Wind turbine manufacturer Clipper Windpower and BP Alternative Energy have entered a 50:50 joint venture to develop one of the world's largest wind farm projects in the United States.
The 5,050 megawatt Titan wind energy project in South Dakota will build on a previously announced 1,550 MW South Dakota project, adding a further 3,500 MW of potential capacity, Clipper said in a statement.
Under the agreement, BP will acquire 1,750 MW of wind development assets from Clipper for an initial price of $26.25 million, subject to the transaction closing before Sept. 30.
'Clipper has continued to grow its development portfolio; prior to this transfer of 1,750 MW, Clipper had 10,500 MW of development assets,' said Clipper Chief Executive James Dehlsen.
'Clipper remains aggressive and motivated to further build and optimize the full potential of its portfolio.'
Clipper, in a separate trading statement, said that it expects increased remediation costs to drive a 'substantial' first-half loss, with improvement in the second half, approaching break-even.
Full-year losses are expected to be in the region of last year's loss of $192 million, but the company said that it expects to reach profitability by 2009.
Dehlsen told Thomson Financial News that beyond 2010, with higher market prices for turbines, the company expects to see a 'very dramatic increase' in profitability. edward.mcallister@thomsonreuters.com ejm/slj COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
© 2008 AFX News
