BP changes tack by keeping US wind farms BP has reversed course on the sale of its US wind farm assets, which had been seen as part of the oil and gas group's wider retreat from alternative energy. The planned sale, announced in April when the assets were expected to fetch $1.5bn, had been widely seen as part of BP's retreat from the "beyond petroleum" strategy it pursued under Lord Browne, its former chief executive. At that time BP was one of the most enthusiastic of the large oil companies in investing in non-hydrocarbon technologies. IN Energy However, the company said on Wednesday, in response to inquiries, that it had opted not to sell the 16 wind farms in nine states "at this time." "Despite receiving a number of bids, the company has determined that now is not the right time to sell the business," the company told the Financial Times. It gave no reason for pulling the sale but values for wind farm assets have generally been declining. The company said it would instead concentrate on maximising the financial and operational performance of the wind farms. In 2011, the most recent year for which data are available, BP was the 12th-largest owner of wind power in the US, and the seventh-largest investor in new capacity. Its net capacity, allowing for other companies" ownership of joint ventures, is about 1,600MW. The company denied that the sale's abandonment reflected a change of strategy, saying the original sale decision had been merely part of the "portfolio management" that the company regularly undertook. The decision not to sell the US wind farms nevertheless goes against the grain of the company's recent unwinding of much of its involvement in alternative energy. Bob Dudley, BP's chief executive, said in March that it had "thrown in the towel" on solar energy after trying for 35 years in the field. It also last year cancelled plans to build a $300m advanced cellulosic ethanol plant in Florida.