Wessington Springs Wind Farm Company Australian, Not American

KJAM blurbs a press release on Babcock & Brown feeling "delighted" to be part of the Wessington Springs wind project. However, even in just two sentences, KJAM manages to make one key mistake: they label Babcock & Brown a "Houston based international investment and wind turbine development firm."

As reported here previously, Babcock & Brown is an international investment firm based in Australia. Babcock & Brown's own website says "Babcock & Brown operates from 32 offices worldwide, anchored by administrative hub offices in Sydney, San Francisco, New York, Munich and London. Babcock & Brown's corporate headquarters are in Sydney." Babcock & Brown Renewable Energy Holdings operates as a wholly owned subsidiary out of the B&B office in Houston, but most press items refer to the company as "Australian-based." Babcock & Brown's corporate letterhead lists Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane before San Francisco, San Diego, Las Vegas, and New York -- no mention of Houston.

Not that this matters much in the global economy -- with everything all horizontally integrated, it's hard to tell if "Made in the USA" means anything any more. Consider that the 2008 Ford Focus and Toyota Camry are both built with 65% American-made parts, and the Toyota Tundra has more American-made parts than the Dodge Ram. (Maybe Prostrollo's "All-American Auto Mall" needs an asterisk next to its brand.)