BP sells Indian wind farm operations for $95m

BP has announced that it has sold three wind farms in India for about $95m (£57m) as part of its strategy to scale back its non-US renewables assets.

The wind farms – located in Karnataka and Maharashtra states, with a combined installed capacity of 100MW – were sold to Green Infra, an independent producer of sustainable energy that is owned by Mumbai-based IDFC Private Equity.

The deal leaves BP with $37m in cash, while an additional $58m in debt will be adopted by Green Infra, which already operates a 25MW wind farm in Tamil Nadu state.

The move is likely to spark further accusations from green groups that the oil giant is diluting its commitment to renewable energy and reneging on its high-profile pledge to go "Beyond Petroleum".

However, BP insisted that the sale would enable it to increase focus on its wind power assets in the US, which comprise six operating wind farms with a total capacity of 1GW. The company added that another 1GW of US capacity is in development, and reiterated that it would focus the bulk of its future wind energy investment on the US.

"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," the company said.

The US is seen as a particularly attractive market as a result of the high level of tax breaks and other incentives offered by the Obama administration and the relatively limited planning barriers faced by US wind farms.

In recent months, BP has repeatedly dismissed suggestions that it is withdrawing from the renewable energy market, despite the June closure of its Alternative Energy headquarters in London and the announcement that it would not be investing in UK wind farms.