Shell joins Simply Blue in 300-MW floating wind project off Irish coast

Simply Blue Energy is selling to Shell New Energies a 51% stake in the project company for its Emerald floating wind project in the Celtic Sea.

European law firm Fieldfisher Ireland, Simply Blue’s adviser for the agreement, announced this today, without disclosing the value of the deal. The Kinsale joint venture will be operated by Simply Blue with support from Shell floating wind experts.

The Emerald offshore wind farm, with a planned initial capacity of 300 MW, will be built near the Kinsale gas platform. Depending on the turbine model to be selected, the first phase of the project will have between 15 and 25 machines, erected 35 km to 60 km off the south coast of Ireland.

In the summer of 2020, Simply Blue Energy applied for permission to conduct survey activities for a project of up to 988 MW. At the time it said it would be using the Windfloat platform as part of a partnership with US floating wind foundation specialist Principle Power.

Fieldfisher noted that in March 2020 it also supported the company in forging another floating wind partnership in the Celtic Sea, but with French energy major Total for a project off the Welsh coast.

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