BP to Sell $3.1 Billion in U.S. Wind in Retreat to Oil

BP Plc, attempting to recover from an oil spill that may cost it $42 billion, said it will sell shares in wind assets worth as much as $3.1 billion in the U.S. in another step to focus on its main oil and gas business.

BP plans to dispose of interests in 16 operating wind farms in nine states with a total capacity of about 2,600 megawatts, Mark Salt, a London-based spokesman for BP, said in an e-mailed statement. The company will also sell projects in various stages of development including 2,000 megawatts of wind poised to start construction, he said.