BP sells windfarm operation in India

Oil company's sale signals further retreat from renewables
Terry Macalister
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 16 September 2009 16.41 BST
BP has signalled a further retreat from its international renewable business by selling off its wind operation in India today.
The oil group, which recently shut down its alternative energy headquarters in London, said it would concentrate its wind interests in the US.
BP has sold three operational windfarms in India for just under $100m (£61m) to Green Infra Limited, an independent energy provider owned by private equity.
The business controls a relatively modest 100MW of power in locations such as Maharashtra but has a vital foothold in one of the world's fastest-growing renewable markets.
"Following a strategic review in 2008, BP decided to concentrate its global wind development activities on the portfolio of onshore wind development projects and opportunities that it had built up across the US," it said in a prepared statement.
The company will continue with its solar joint venture in India and has no intention of selling any of its petroleum-related businesses there.
BP employs over 1,500 staff in India and says it is continuing to "actively explore new opportunities and long-term material growth options" for its Castrol automotive lubricants and other sectors.
The company was recently awarded operation of a deepwater oil exploration block in the Krishna-Godavari basin off the east coast of India.
It says it remains committed to its Tata BP Solar joint venture which is a leading manufacturer and supplier of photovoltaic power systems.
But since Tony Hayward took the helm at BP from John Browne in the spring of 2007, critics have detected a marked retreat on the renewables front.
There has also been a move into more carbon-intensive activities such as tar sands.
But Hayward and BP deny any major change of direction, insisting that the company is just marshalling its resources better in an economic downturn.
They point out that over the past three years, BP has built a wind business in the US with interests in over 1,000MW of installed gross generating capacity and more than 1,000MW gross capacity at an advanced stage of development. In total, BP's US wind energy portfolio contains almost 100 projects, with a total potential generating capacity of up to 20,000MW.
Critics of the company's record on renewable energy point to the decision to close the independent London office of BP Alternative Energy and the exit of managing director, Vivienne Cox in June. In April, BP axed 620 jobs from its solar power business, closing two plants in Spain and phasing out module assembly at one in the US. There has also been confirmation that the 2009 budget for the clean energy division will be cut from $1.4bn (£850m) to anywhere between $1bn and $500m but the company has insisted that its original spending target of $8bn by 2015 remains on track.