Growth-starved utilities find a new way of making money

New York

THERE is a new model emerging for growth-starved utilities looking to profit from America's solar and wind power boom.

American Electric Power Co (AEP) is using it for a US$4.5 billion deal that will land the US utility owner a massive wind farm in Oklahoma and a high-voltage transmission line to deliver the power. NextEra Energy Inc's Florida unit is using it to build solar farms.