Shell Makes Case for 20GW of Dutch Offshore Wind by 2030

Oil and gas major Royal Dutch Shell has called on the government of the Netherlands to increase its target for installed offshore wind capacity by 2030 to 20 gigawatts, Reuters reports.

Shell said that the offshore wind industry needs to work on further lowering of the development costs, but the oil giant believes the Dutch government should come up with a policy to introduce further 10GW to 15GW of installed capacity to the 2030 target.

Shell is part of a consortium which recently won the tender to build Borssele III and IV offshore wind farms in the Netherlands.

The company has also recently announced plans to invest up to USD 1 billion a year in green energy by the end of the decade through its newly-established New Energies division.

Back in December 2016, Shell entered into an offtake agreement for 100% of the power generated from the Egmond aan Zee offshore wind farm, the Netherlands’ first large-scale offshore wind farm, in which it holds a 50% stake.

The oil major has also recently invested in Kite Power Systems (KPS), a UK start-up company developing high-altitude wind power generation technology, together with E.ON and Schlumberger.