Shell has called on the Dutch government to increase the country’s targets for offshore wind by as much as 20GW by 2030.
The government currently has plans for 4.5GW by 2023.
Shell Netherlands director Marjan van Loon made the call at the Brussels North Sea Energy Forum last month.
He said: “We need a long-term, predictable government agenda for the roll-out of offshore wind at scale…when I say scale, I mean – for the Netherlands part of the North Sea: 15-20GW additional capacity by 2030.”
In a sustainability report published on 12 April, Shell said it was “helping” the Netherlands reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the country’s energy mix.
The majority of that help would come from Shell growing its natural gas business, but the company does not rule out increasing investment in renewables from the 2016 level of $200m.
Shell said it saw the “potential for scale and commerciality” in new energies.
A Shell-led consortium is currently building a 680MW Borssele 3&4 offshore wind farm in the Netherlands, and the company is also bidding for an offshore wind license in the US.
Image: Prinses Amalia wind farm (Eneco)
Shell urges Dutch offshore surge
Oil major says government should increase plans by up to 20GW by 2030
By EBS