Sempra Energy Invests in BP Wind Farm

Sempra Energy announced Thursday that they would be investing in 200 MW of capacity at a wind farm in Indiana, USA, which is being developed in conjunction with a unit of BP. The investment will be the company’s first venture in to the wind energy industry.

Sempra Generation, a unit of Sempra Energy, said that under the agreement it will be an equal shareholding partner with BP Wind Energy. The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed by either company.

Construction on the joint project has already begun and the wind farm, located in Benton County, Indiana, will be named the Fowler Ridge II Wind Farm. The facility has a capacity of 200 MW and is anticipated to be up and running by  the first half of 2009.

The facility is an expansion to the original Fowler Ridge I which is a 400 MW facility that went online last March. Together, the two wind farms will become the largest wind energy facility in the United States mid western region, operating at a total capacity of 600 MW.

Sempra Generation also owns several natural gas powered plants which operate in the U.S. energy market, and has also recently delved into the solar and wind sectors for the U.S. renewables industry.