A just published report commissioned by the UK's Department for Trade and Industry clearly shows that onshore windfarms are more than capable of commercially existing with lower subsidies than they do now. I'd go a bit further myself - some can exist quite easily without subsidies altogether.

Two forces are at play here;

1) The cost of wind turbines are still falling

2) The external cost of other energy sources - specifically coal and gas - are rising

It has been estimated that a 40% drop in the cost of windpower would make it the most competitive form of electricity generation. Some have predicted this happening by 2020. Far more likely is a 20% drop and a 20% rise in conventional fuels, yielding the same 40% drop.

Either way, as Britain's wind industry grows, there will be pressure to reduce subsidies, not increase them.

Suzlon Energy - India's wind turbine manufacturer who make machines from 350 kw to 2 mw in size - completed its listing on the Bombay Stock Exchange, with the issue reportedly oversubscribed more than 45 times. Suzlon  raised a total of INR 13.6bn (USD 310m).

The company also delivers turnkey wind farms (ones with all the necessary turbines and electrical infrastructure in place literally ready to turn on), most notably Asia's largest in  Vankusawade of 201 mw.

What's impressive is that Suzlon is reaching the required design standards of West European manufacturers - Germanische Lloyd - and is able to sell turbines as far afield as Minnesota USA. Assuming the de-industrialization of Western Europe continues, expect Suzlon to be a key benefactor.

Australian financial group Babcock and   Brown announced plans to list its partially owned investment vehicle,   Global Wind Partners, on the Australian Stock Exchange. The company will be   renamed Babcock and Brown Wind Partners (BBWP) and  market capitalisation expected to be in the region of AUD   657m-692m.

The newly-listed Babcock & Brown Wind Partners (BBWP) will initially hold stakes in 15 wind farms across Europe, the United States and Australia, with combined generation capacity of 672 MW.

This is one of the widest geographical wind portfolios I've ever seen - a good thing. Each nation's annual wind output can vary hugely, as in Europe in 2003.