The story
In September 2007 Clipper Windpower, based in Carpinteria, California, received an Outstanding Research and Development Partnership Award from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for the design and development of its 2.5 MW Liberty Wind Turbine, one of the largest wind turbines manufactured in the U.S. at the time. The turbine was developed under a partnership with DOE and its National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). It was manufactured in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Commercial sales started in June 2006 for the new Liberty turbine and (mostly contingent) orders for more than 5,600 MW (2,240 units) for deliveries in 2007 through 2011 were booked. Clipper Windpower had an agreement with BP Energy to supply the 2.5 MW turbines for the proposed 5,050 MW Titan Wind Project in South Dakota. Among the projects completed with Clipper wind turbines is Steel Winds in Lackawanna, New York, south of Buffalo, where an urban wind farm was developed on part of a brownfield.
Clipper's wind turbine technology suffered from frequent gearbox failures and cracked blades. This resulted in numerous warranty claims and lawsuits which significantly eroded Clipper's balance sheet and ability to secure financing. As such, Clipper's wind turbines are no longer manufactured.
Acquisition by United Technologies
On December 10, 2009, Connecticut-based United Technologies Corporation announced that it would acquire a 49.5% stake in Clipper Windpower by purchasing 84.3 million new shares and 21.8 million shares from current shareholders for £126.5 million. Clipper said this equity purchase "will significantly strengthen its balance sheet and enable it to enhance its operations and pursue its strategic initiatives". On 18 October 2010, UTC agreed with Clipper to acquire the rest of the company, a transaction that was completed in December 2010 for a total cost of approximately $385 million.
On March 15, 2012, United Technologies announced their intent to sell Clipper Windpower. CFO Greg Hayes described their 2010 acquisition as a "mistake". United Technologies' sudden about-face is attributed to the fact that the windpower manufacturing company does not fit into their new aerospace-focused business model. In August 2012, United Technologies sold Clipper to private equity firm Platinum Equity.
From Wikipedia’s article on Clipper Windpower, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4