Renewable Energy Gen says wind capacity to rise

LONDON (Reuters) - Renewable Energy Generation (REG) is looking to grow its operational wind capacity by more than 35 percent in 2012 on the back of continued government support, the wind farm developer's chief executive said.

"At the very least, our operational wind capacity will rise from 41.15 megawatts (MW) to about 56-57 MW next year," Andrew Whalley told Reuters on Monday.

The top end of that range is nearly 40 percent higher than the comparable figure in 2011, and is more than double the company's operational capacity of 26.25 MW in 2010.

"The coalition government is very committed to onshore wind," Whalley said. "There is every chance they will continue to provide some very significant support."

REG, which invested about 30 million pounds ($47.4 million) on three wind sites that came online in 2011, expects to spend at least 20 million pounds next year. That figure is expected to rise through the year.

"There is a strong chance we will invest more this year than we did last year," Whalley said.

Earlier on Monday, REG reported a narrower full-year loss, but said sales were hit by unusually low wind speeds.

($1 = 0.633 British Pounds)

(Reporting by Adveith Nair; Editing by Sarah Young)