More than eight out of 10 US stimulus dollars spent on wind energy farms have gone to foreign companies, according to a report by the Washington-based Investigative Reporting Workshop, a non-profit journalist group.

Of the $1.05bn handed out in grants so far – most of it since August – 84 per cent has gone to European companies, with the US subsidiary of Iberdrola Renewables, the Spanish company, taking the largest share.