Shell New Energies US LLC, a subsidiary of energy giant Shell PLC, has divested its 50% equity share in the SouthCoast Wind Energy LLC offshore wind joint venture to its partner Ocean Winds North America LLC. SouthCoast Wind is a 50-50 joint venture originally formed between Shell and Ocean Winds in 2018 to develop offshore wind projects off the coast of Massachusetts. With this deal, Ocean Winds now takes full ownership of the venture.
Ocean Winds is a 50-50 joint venture between EDP Renewables and ENGIE focused on offshore wind development. The transaction was structured as a simultaneous sign-and-close deal with an immediate effective date.
Shell retains its 50% stake in another U.S. offshore wind joint venture, Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind LLC with EDF-RE, which is developing wind farms off the coasts of New Jersey and New York. As part of its Powering Progress strategy, Shell plans to invest $10-15 billion from 2023-2025 into low-carbon solutions like renewable power, hydrogen, EV charging and carbon capture.
REGlobal’s Views: This comes soon after Shell’s exit from another offshore wind project, that is located in Korea, by selling its stake to Hexicon. This move comes when other energy giants like bp, Equinor and Orsted have also announced similar decisions in the offshore wind space. Rising equipment costs and supply chain issues may have impacted these decisions, and it is expected that the growth will pick up as the global markets stabilise and availability of essential equipment is assured.
