Theolia, in any event, has timing on its side. France, a country that has been slow off the blocks in reaping its wind power potential, recently created attractive terms for its development. To make it easier to gain local authorisation and remove market uncertainty, France created wind power zones and a new tariff system last June; maybe not as attractive as its neighbours, but attractive nonetheless: €82/MWh (megawatt-hour) onshore, guaranteed for 15 years, and €130/ MWh offshore, guaranteed for 20 years.

France has the potential to develop 1GW a year of wind power until 2020, believes Sala de Vedruna, which is why the world’s largest wind power developers have piled into the country in the last year. Entrants include GDF-Suez, which snapped up a 50% of Compagnie du Vent; Electricidade de Portugal, the world’s third largest wind developer; and Iberdrola, the world’s largest wind power company.

With its bulging pipeline, Theolia is often rumoured to be a takeover target for one of Europe’s mega-utilities, one of the groups that have been slow to enter the wind power market, such as Electricite de France, and Germany’s E.ON and RWE. Santander says he would consider any offer that is in his shareholders’ best interest.

Either way, Santander maintains Theolia has built up enough momentum to stay independent, and considers the company the Google of wind power, capable of developing smaller, highly productive wind power sites, as the internet search colossus has developed a mega-market for small advertisers.

Despite newly attractive terms in France and elsewhere in Europe, it is not all smooth sailing for wind power developers. Charlie Thomas, manager of Jupiter Ecology fund and Jupiter Global Green Investment Trust, warns that they must contend with many constraints: access to capital amid a chastened market; access to turbines, since most are spoken for through 2009; access to sites; and the uncertaintly as to whether electricity will be sold on a more irregular, spot basis or via long-term supply contracts. Shell recently pulled out of a major offshore wind site planned for the UK, citing spiralling costs.

Santander naturally believes that Theolia can vault each challenge. He points out that it has built up solid knowledge of which turbine works for each micro location, which means it isn’t locked into big order books for turbines that may not be suited to local conditions. Despite the recent poor financial results of its partner GE, the conglomerate’s energy finance arm is said to be thriving; and the company only finances its wind farms through more reliable long-term contracts.

The window of opportunity for wind power may be in the here and now, but it won’t last forever. However, Santander dismisses any thought of retirement when the fashionable trend is considered passé. So what’s next? “Solar,” he deadpans, picking up his mobile and rushing off to the next appointment.