Shell sells wind power stake

By Sanjay Odedra
Published: July 22 2008 03:00

Royal Dutch Shell, Europe's biggest oil company, has agreed to sell its stake in the London Array wind power project to former partners Eon and Dong Energy for an undisclosed sum.
Shell's one-third holding in the 1,000 megawatt development, the world's largest offshore wind farm proposal, will be split evenly between Germany's Eon and Denmark's Dong, leaving them with 50 per cent each. The scheme's future had come into doubt after Shell announced that it was withdrawing in May. Analysts attributed the move to soaring costs, which have leapt from an original estimate of £1.5bn to £2.5bn.
Eon now expects the wind farm's first phase to be completed by the end of 2012, with up to 341 turbines set to be built in the Thames Estuary.
Shares in Shell rose 13p to £18.08. Sanjay Odedra
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008