Shell and Apex have decided not to submit bids in this month’s auction for the 1.5GW Kitty Hawk offshore wind zone off North Carolina.
A Shell spokesman said: “Our assessment of the attractiveness of the opportunity did not merit to further pursue participation in the lease sale.”
He said Shell “continues to explore opportunities which are a good fit for our new energies portfolio” and is “committed to its global wind business”.
The company is “actively exploring and evaluating opportunities to best optimize its asset mix to deliver the greatest value to shareholders”, he added.
A spokeswoman for Apex said onshore wind is the company’s priority.
Earlier this month, Canadian developer Northland Power also said it would not bid for the lease.
US federal officials will hold the sale on 16 March, with qualified bidders still including Iberdrola business Avangrid, Enbridge Holdings, PNE Wind, Statoil, WPD and Wind Future.
Image: reNEWS
Shell takes flight from Kitty Hawk
UPDATE: Apex will also not submit a bid for 1.5GW offshore zone
By EBS