U.S. utility and power plant operator Constellation Energy Group Inc. (CEG) said Monday it will buy a 70-megawatt Maryland wind farm and associated wind turbines from Clipper Windpower PLC (CWP.LN) as part of a strategy to invest in renewable energy.

The companies said the Criterion wind farm, being developed in Garrett County, Md., near the West Virginia state line, will cost about $140 million, although terms of the deal weren't disclosed.

The deal represents the first direct investment in wind power for Constellation, which sold half its nuclear business to Electricite de France SA (EDF.FR) in a $4.5 billion deal that closed this month. A Constellation executive said earlier this month the company plans to use some of the proceeds of the sale to purchase power plants.

Constellation, of Baltimore, plans to invest more in renewable energy, although it hasn't set any specific targets or goals, said Larry McDonnell, a company spokesman.

"We're looking at renewable energy projects opportunistically," McDonnell said. "When it's economically viable and there's market demand, it is something the company considers to be a priority."

Shares of Constellation closed down 26 cents at $31.82 Monday, while shares of Clipper closed in London 0.5 pence higher at 142.50 pence apiece.

Constellation plans to build, own and operate the wind facility, and sell the output to Old Dominion Electric Cooperative under a 20-year contract. Constellation plans to start construction in the spring, with commercial operation slated for the autumn.

The wind deal, expected to close in the first quarter of 2010, also includes 28 of Clipper's 2.5-megawatt Liberty wind turbines.

Maryland and 34 other U.S. states have renewable-energy requirements or goals for utilities in those states, which have been driving growth in the U.S. renewable-energy markets.

Constellation owns Baltimore Gas & Electric, a competitive energy marketing unit and more than 7,000 megawatts of mostly nuclear and fossil-fuel generation. The company also installs rooftop solar-panel systems, including a 525-kilowatt project it is developing at the Patriot Place mall near Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

Constellation and EDF finalized their deal earlier this month, creating a new joint venture that aims to build new nuclear reactors in the U.S.

Constellation Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Thayer said this month the company will use money from its deal with EDF to finance power plant acquisitions, rather than mergers or company acquisitions.

Constellation last December agreed to the proposed nuclear joint venture with EDF in a move to remain independent, scuttling an earlier buyout agreement with Warren Buffett's MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co.

 
 -By Cassandra Sweet, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-439-6468; cassandra.sweet@dowjones.com

(Mark Peters in New York contributed to this article)
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