Oil giant Shell will have a number of “commercial offshore wind farms” that use floating technology by the early 2020s, according to the firm’s project manager.
James Cotter, Shell manager of floating offshore wind technology, revealed at Glasgow’s All-Energy Conference that the firm hopes to roll out its floating wind capability after purchasing a stake in TetraSpar floating foundation demonstrator.
Shell bumped its stake in the turbine project from 33% to 66% in February this year.
The development project is a partnership between Shell, Innogy and Stiesdal Offshore Technologies (SOT).
It has a budget of almost £16 million for projects.
Mr Cotter said: “We have confidence that TetraSpar will work. We think it has the ability to disrupt the market.
“But we are not just backing TetraSpar, other parts have been progressing.
“We hope to have commercial offshore wind farms that use floating technology certainly by the early 2020s.”
Shell is also rumoured to be keen on entering the UK offshore wind market, the firm’s new energy president claimed in February.
Mark Gainsborough, executive vice president of Shell New Energies, told Reuters during an interview that his firm intends to buy up UK seabed leases or buy up stakes in existing projects.
Mr Cotter added: “We should be looking at how do we make offshore wind access a larger market in a competitive way that delivers jobs and investment in local supply chains wherever we go.
“It’s easier to do that with an new technology than with the incumbent supply chain.”
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