Shell has made its first investment in the Australian wind market through a shareholding and strategic partnership with developer WestWind Energy.
Shell Energy Operations, a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell, signed an agreement to acquire 49% of WestWind, which has a 3GW project pipeline across Victoria, New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland and has permitted approximately 2GW.
Shell Australia country chair Tony Nunan said: “WestWind has an impressive pipeline of Australian wind projects and proven capability in the development of onshore wind here and, via its parent company, overseas.
“The investment is expected to complete in 2022 and is subject to regulatory approvals.
“Our first wind investment in Australia is a significant step in our goal to build a low-carbon integrated power business in Australia in line with our customers’ evolving energy needs.”
The strategic partnership with WestWind complements Shell’s investments over recent years across large scale solar, carbon trading and power retailing, generation and trading, Nunan added.
“It demonstrates our commitment to delivering a broad range of low-carbon products and services to residential and commercial customers.”
WestWind managing director Tobias Geiger added: “In partnership with Shell, we can accelerate our development of wind energy projects in Victoria and expand into NSW and Queensland.
“We will be able to grow our team to undertake a larger number of projects, and progress them much faster.”