Shell quits world's biggest wind farm project

London: Royal Dutch Shell said yesterday it plans to sell its share in a project to build the world's largest electricity-generating wind farm near the British capital, raising a strong possibility that the project will be scrapped.

Green groups were incensed by Shell's announcement that it is looking to dispose of its 33 per cent shareholding in the 2 billion pounds ($4 billion; Dh14.6 billion) London Array project which, if built, would supply enough electricity to power a quarter of homes in the greater London area.

Friends of the Earth spokesman Nic Rau said the decision had an extra sting, coming just two days after Shell posted a 25 per cent rise in first quarter profit to a record $9.1 billion as crude prices soared.

"We're very disappointed that Shell, which touts itself as a progressive green company, is pulling out of the London Array project, and leaving a key clean energy project high and dry," said Rau. "It should be investing those profits in renewable energy projects, not focusing its efforts on making money from sucking fossil fuels out of the ground and contributing to climate change," he said. Shell, Europe's largest oil producer, has an equal share in the project - which was due for completion around 2010 to 2011 - with Germany's E.ON, the world's biggest publicly traded utility, and Denmark's Dong Energy.

Shell said it decided to sell its stake as part of its "ongoing review of projects and investment choices".

"While we remain committed to the scheme, Shell has introduced a new element of risk into the project which will need to be assessed," said E.On UK chief executive Paul Golby. "The current economics of the project are marginal at best, with rising steel prices, bottlenecks in turbine supply and competition from the rest of the world all moving against us."