Wind farms and solar parks are changing hands at record rates, signaling both an increased taste for the assets among pension funds and hard times for utilities that are the biggest sellers. About 43 percent of the 275 deals completed in the power industry in the first nine months were for renewable generators, up from 37 percent in the year-earlier period, according to data compiled by Ernst & Young LLP. The value of all the deals increased to $104 billion from $93 billion. Buyers from insurer Aviva Plc (AV/) to Danish fund PFA Pension A/S are seeking yields averaging about 6 percent on wind and solar, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Utilities such as France ’s GDF Suez (GSZ) SA, Iberdrola SA (IBE) of Spain and Dong Energy AS have unloaded plants to build cash cushions as power prices slumped and competition increased from independent generators. Utilities “simply […]