Repower Systems AG which yesterday closed up over 9% to EUR 33.20 is trading at a 3 year high.

One of the reasons is that Areva has bought 21.1% of Repower's shares. What's fascinating is that France-based Areva SA is the world's biggest maker of nuclear reactors, turning over 11 billion euros last year. Repower covers all parts of the wind industry from the development, licensing, production and sale of turbines and has a 10% market share in Germany. So much for the wind and nuclear industry being at loggarheads with each other!

The strategy for Areva might be to zero in on what many think is a sleeping giant - French wind power. Repower for it's part, gets a rich partner and a huge distribution network.

US based Clipper Windpower has just completed a successful IPO on London's AIM stockmarket, raising $135m.

Clipper Windpower describes itself as a rapidly growing wind energy technology company which manufactures the 2.5 MW Liberty turbine and actively develops wind power generating projects in the Americas and Europe.

It's actually quite unusual in the wind industry to manufacture the turbines and develop the wind farms for sale. But you have to respect the pedigree of the Chairman and CEO, Jim Dehlsen who launched Zond Wind Corporation in 1980.

He has been in this business right from the start.

Danish wind turbine giant Vestas has had a bad week.

Losses were reported of EUR 80m (USD 98.0m) for Q2 2005, compared to a loss of EUR 53m in Q2 2004. The company seems to be having difficulty integrating Danish wind turbine manufacturer NEG Micon.

Meanwhile, Analyst Jesper Klitgaard Frederiksen of Jyske Bank has given it a sell rating.

Vestas has had a meteoric rise on the back of the Danish and German wind booms. But now surely the future of manufacturing wind turbines belongs to China - a land of enormous wind resources. If China can do with wind turbines, what they are starting to do with cars, windpower could make that final cost breakthrough.

That's why on the positive side, it's exciting to hear that Vestas is setting up a blade factory in China.