Shell has abandoned 2 offshore wind power projects in Scotland. This comes as the world’s top oil and gas firms continue to scale back their investment and involvement in renewable energy.
Shell ditched plans to build two wind farms offshore in the country, days after announcing that it is withdrawing from the Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind project in the United States.
Offshore Scotland, Shell tried to develop the MarramWind project in a 50/50 joint venture with ScottishPower Renewables and build the CampionWind offshore wind farm as the sole owner of the project.
However, Shell decided to sell its 50% in MarramWind to ScottishPower Renewables, which will develop the proposed floating offshore wind farm that could deliver up to 3 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy, enough to power the equivalent of over 3.5 million homes.
Shell also returned the CampionWind lease to Crown Estate Scotland.
Recall that the company and Iberdrola-owned ScottishPower Renewables won the leases in Crown Estate Scotland’s landmark ScotWind Leasing auction in January 2022.
According to the supermajor, amid all of the regulatory changes, cost inflation and high interest rates, Shell feels returning the CampionWind lease to CES is the best move going forward.
“Shell believes that returning the CampionWind lease to CES will offer the best opportunity for any potential future the site may have,” a press statement emailed to Bloomberg read.
Weeks back, Shell withdrew from the Atlantic Shores 50-50 joint venture with EDF power solutions, established to develop offshore wind projects off the coast of New Jersey and New York.
The oil major assigned its 50% outstanding membership interests to the existing joint venture partner with immediate effect.
“This decision was taken in line with Shell’s power strategy, where we continue to maximize the value of our platforms and high-grade our portfolio, shifting away from capital-intensive generation projects to assets that support our trading and retail strengths,” a statement added.
