Shell Sells Wind-Project Stake

By a WALL STREET JOURNAL Staff Reporter: July 22, 2008;

The U.K. arm of German utility E.On AG and Denmark-based DONG Energy said they bought Royal Dutch Shell PLC's stake in the U.K.'s London Array offshore wind project for an undisclosed sum, giving each company a half share in the project. Paul Golby, chief executive of E.On U.K., said the first phase of the project is on track to begin operation in 2012, subject to securing a number of important contracts, such as those for the wind turbines.
Before the deal, the three companies each held a one-third stake in the project. "We're pleased that, together with DONG Energy, we've been able to secure the future of the project," he said.
The announcement could help to boost confidence in the U.K. offshore wind sector, which is more costly and riskier than onshore wind and took a battering after Shell said in May that it was pulling out to invest in U.S. onshore wind instead.
The U.K. is counting on offshore wind to provide the bulk of the power needed to help meet a binding European Union target to get 15% of the country's total energy from renewable sources by 2020.