GE & JAPAN ITOCHU, NEW ENERGY PARTNERS

GE, Itochu tie in wind projects; Itochu stock up
Yuko Inoue (w/Edwina Gibbs), June 3, 2010 (Reuters)

"General Electric will form an alliance with Japanese trading house Itochu Corp to strengthen their wind and other renewable energy businesses, boosting Itochu's stock price nearly 5 percent.

"GE, the largest U.S. conglomerate and a top maker of wind power generators, will bring Itochu into a wind power project in Oklahoma that GE is currently pursuing at a total cost of roughly 30 billion yen ($326 million)…The two firms also plan to cooperate in another large wind energy project in the United States…The agreement also covers geothermal and biomass power generation and is scheduled to initially last five years."

Plenty of wind in Oklahoma for GE and Itochu. (click to enlarge)

"The U.S. wind industry has grown nearly 40 percent on average each of the past five years on new state demands for renewable energy sources, strong support from the federal government and the looming threat of carbon restrictions.

"It has been a fast-growing business for GE, but Chief Executive Jeff Immelt has said he expects it to slow…GE is currently involved in patent disputes over wind turbine technology with Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industry Co, which is also keen to tap U.S. demand…Itochu has a large global business network and is strong in the Chinese market."