Wind wire: NextEra to buy three

NextEra Energy (formerly FPL Energy) plans to buy three operating wind projects with a combined capacity of 185 MW for $342 million from collapsed Australian firm Babcock & Brown's US wind division.

The wind plants are the 80 MW Majestic project in Texas, the 54 MW Butler Ridge project in Wisconsin and the 51 MW Wessington Springs wind plant in South Dakota. All three sell power from GE 1.5 MW turbines through long-term power purchase agreements. The projects are eligible for the US Treasury Department's cash grants because they came online this year.