Duke Wants to Sell Part of Its Wind-Power Business, Rogers Says

Thursday, Nov 13, 2008

Duke Energy Corp., the third-largest U.S. producer of electricity from coal, wants to sell part of the wind-power business it assembled over the past 19 months.

The doors open and were talking to a lot of people, Chief Executive Officer Jim Rogers said in an interview after a presentation in Phoenix at the annual financial conference of the Edison Electric Institute, the industry trade group. Were open to strategic partners, financial partners, all kinds.

Duke aims to have 500 megawatts of wind-power capacity operating by year end. Rogers declined to give Dukes estimate for the value of the wind business. A megawatt of wind turbines can power about 300 average U.S. homes, according to the American Wind Energy Association.

Dukes capital costs are lower than those of small wind developers, and a joint venture may take on other projects, Rogers said. The companys debt is rated investment grade. Duke plans $2 billion of capital investment next year and intends to announce how that will be spent by its units on Nov. 21.

Duke formed joint ventures this year with Areva SA, the biggest maker of nuclear reactors, to develop wood-chip burning power plants in the U.S., and with American Electric Power Co., owner of the longest U.S. high-voltage network, to build a $1 billion power line in Indiana.

Duke entered the wind business with its purchase of Austin, Texas-based Tierra Energy in May 2007. It bought a second developer, Catamount Energy Corp. for $240 million in September. Catamount had about 300 megawatts in operation and 5,000 megawatts of capacity under development.

American Electric, based in Columbus, Ohio, and Atlanta- based Southern Co. are the largest U.S. producers of electricity from coal.