Shell pulls out of two Irish offshore wind projects

Ron Bousso, Reuters

Shell has pulled out of two wind projects off the coast of Cork and Clare operated by Simply Blue Group a year after the British company acquired stakes in the developments.

Shell and Simply Blue said in a joint statement on Saturday that Shell's withdrawal from the Western Star and Emerald projects was a "portfolio decision", and Shell added that offshore wind remains a key growth area for its plans to slash greenhouse gas emissions and build up its renewable power business.

Simply Blue said it is progressing towards a new partnership and remains "fully focused" on developing the two projects, which have a joint capacity of 2.65 gigawatt (GW).

Shell has more than 13 GW of wind capacity in operation, under construction and in the funnel of potential projects, including a 50 per cent stake in 5 GW of floating wind projects in Scotland.

Shell agreed to acquire in 2021 51 per cent stakes in the Western Star and Emerald projects.