Cosmo Oil makes full-scale entry into wind power business

Cosmo Oil Co. has acquired a wind-power generation company, in a bid to make a full-scale entry into the wind electricity market, the company announced. Japan’s leading oil company bought a 98.8% stake in the debt-ridden wind power generator Eco Power Co., a subsidiary of environment equipment manufacturer Ebara Corp., for a token ¥1 (US$0.01), in an attempt to secure new revenue sources amid weakening demand for petroleum products. Cosmo Oil will also take over the ¥10 billion (US$111.23 million) debt racked up by the Tokyo-based wind-power firm. Cosmo Oil, which currently operates a wind power business in the northern Honshu city of Yamagata, aims to expand its market share by taking over some 130 wind turbines at 25 locations mainly in the Hokkaido and Tohoku areas, with a total generation capacity of 147,000 kilowatts. (February 11, 2010)