BP Wind & Solar CEO: Project Money 'Completely Dried Up'

Written by Ucilia Wang

Financing for wind farms has disappeared and fewer companies will be able to develop the kind of "mega projects" needed to feed the growing demand for energy, said Reyad Fezzani, CEO of BP's (BP Quote) wind and solar operations, at the Dow Jones Alternative Energy Innovations conference Wednesday.

In just the last month, money that typically would be available for building renewable-energy projects has "completely dried up," thanks to the financial market crisis, Fezzani said during a keynote and on-stage interview with Yuliya Chernova, editor of Dow Jones' Clean Technology Insight.

To weather the downturn, BP and other companies will have to fund those wind farms and solar-power plants using equity finance. They can then refinance when the credit crunch eases, Fezzani said. ...