The European Union has taken the lead on many climate change issues — from ratifying the Kyoto Protocol to passing laws to require and encourage the development of renewable sources of energy. Why, then, are so many European energy companies looking to the United States for investment opportunities?
For António Mexia, the chief executive of Energías de Portugal, the answer is short and simple. “The United States is the fastest-growing market in the world for wind power,” he said. “If we want to be a leader, we have to be here.”
In July, Energías paid nearly $3 billion to buy Horizon Wind Energy from the Goldman Sachs Group. The purchase, Mr. Mexia’s first foray into the United States, doubled the amount of wind power in Energías’s portfolio, giving the once sleepy utility the fourth-largest wind-farm capacity, behind Iberdrola of Spain, FPL Energy (an affiliate of Florida Power and Light) and another Spanish company, Acciona Energía.
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