Two further bids to construct offshore wind farms at the first sites offered at Dutch Borssele Zone were confirmed today, one submitted jointly by RWE and Macquarie Capital, and the other one by Vattenfall.
“ We are optimistic to be highly competitive with our application,” RWE and Macquarie Capital said in a statement.
Vattenfall has made an offer independently, without partnership with other parties, its Dutch daughter company Nuon said in a press release.
Even though the bidding itself is in focus now, and companies are reluctant to reveal more about their plans should they win the tender, this could be viewed as a high-profile competition.
RWE and Vattenfall are established as major offshore wind developers in Europe. RWE owns or owns a stake in twelve offshore wind projects: six operational, two under construction, and four in development.
Vattenfall is behind several offshore wind projects in the UK, Germany, and Denmark, and owns a 50% stake in Dutch Egmond an Zee offshore wind farm through Nuon. The other half of the project, commissioned in 2007, is owned by Shell.
Shell remains the most interesting bidder
Shell, now part of a team also comprising Eneco and Van Oord, remains the most interesting bidder to participate in the latest Dutch tender.
Eneco and Van Oord already have a wealth of experience in building offshore wind farms off the Dutch coast, and joining forces with Shell could be an additional boost, since the company could bring in its knowledge from the oil and gas industry as it is used to dealing with complex large-scale offshore projects.
In addition, the oil and gas giant’s decision to bid at the offshore wind tender is in media focus since, other than its 50% stake in the Egmond an Zee project, Shell has not been significantly involved in the offshore wind sector in recent years.
When contacted by Offshore WIND , Shell’s spokesperson said: “We have substantial offshore expertise in the North Sea, of managing large projects and in HSSE. In addition, Shell Energy Europe provides Electricity / Power trading services.
“Shell entered the onshore wind market in the USA in 2001 where we have interests in eight wind projects with total installed capacity of 900 MW. Shell also maintains a 50% interest in the 108-MW NoordZee Wind offshore wind project in the Netherlands built in 2006.
“We expect to be able to put our broader experience and capabilities to use in making the Borssele project a success.”
It is expected that the outcome of the Borssele I & II tender will be known sometime during this summer.
Updated at 15:32 on 13 May: Statement from Shell. Offshore WIND Staff