21 July 2008 09:06
E.ON and DONG Energy become 50:50 partners in world’s largest offshore wind farm

E.ON, one of the UK's leading renewable generators, has today (MONDAY) joined with Danish utility DONG Energy to buy out Shell's stake in the London Array offshore wind farm for an undisclosed sum.

The two companies will now become 50:50 partners in the project, which, when built, could generate enough power to supply a quarter of Greater London homes.

Dr Paul Golby, Chief Executive of E.ON UK, said: "We're pleased that, together with DONG Energy, we've been able to secure the future of the project, and we'd also like to thank Shell for their contribution to the project's significant progress to date.

"That also means that we hope to be able to keep the project on track and we should be able to complete the first phase by the end of 2012, subject to securing a number of important contracts, such as those for the wind turbines.

"We believe that offshore schemes such as this have an important part to play as we look to ensure security of supply for the UK, reduce carbon emissions and keep energy as affordable as possible for our customers."

Mike Lewis, Managing Director Europe of E.ON Climate & Renewables, said: "This deal underlines our commitment to offshore wind, not only in the UK but across the world.

"However, while the economics of this project remain challenging, we believe this flagship project will give us invaluable experience as we go forward with the next generation of offshore projects.

"That means that we can take the lessons we learn from London Array for future projects that are further offshore and, potentially, even larger."

Shell has committed to leave its staff in the project until the end of the year to enable a smooth transition and handover.

Under the E.ON Climate & Renewables banner, the company already operates a 60MW offshore wind farm in UK waters - Scroby Sands off Great Yarmouth - and is currently building a 180MW scheme - Robin Rigg in the Solway Firth. It also applied for planning permission to build the 300MW Humber Gateway offshore wind farm.

E.ON has a renewable development portfolio in the UK that could produce enough renewable power for around a million homes and displace the emission of almost two million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year. Worldwide, the Group plans to invest €6bn in renewable energy projects by 2010.

In addition, E.ON UK is committed to cutting the amount of carbon it produces for every unit of electricity it generates by 10% by 2012, having already reduced it by 20% since 1990. The Group is aiming to cut the same figure by 50% by 2030.

Ends

Notes to editors:

• E.ON is one of the UK's leading power and gas companies - generating and distributing electricity, and retailing power and gas - and is part of the E.ON group, the world's largest investor-owned power and gas company. We employ around 17,000 people in the UK;
• E.ON Climate & Renewables is a global renewables business responsible for E.ON Group's large scale renewable generation and carbon sourcing projects - excluding large hydro;
• E.ON Climate & Renewables will be investing €6 billion Euros to 2010 on a range of renewable generation technologies and climate protection projects;
• E.ON is the new name for Powergen. Our retail business is a leading energy supplier in the UK, with around 8 million electricity and gas customer accounts, covering domestic, SME and industrial. E.ON offers central heating and boiler care through its Home Energy Services business;
• Our distribution business, branded Central Networks, provides a reliable supply to 4.9 customers in central England through 133,000km of underground and overhead cables - enough to go round the Earth more than three times - and via almost 97,000 substations. The company covers an area from the Peak District in the north to parts of Bristol in the south, and from the Welsh Borders to the Lincolnshire Coast;
• We are sponsoring The FA Cup, which is known as The FA Cup sponsored by E.ON. We are an official partner of The Tour of Britain, sponsoring the King of the Mountains competition;
• The generation business produces enough electricity to cater for the needs of around eight million homes from a portfolio of world-class gas, coal and oil fired power stations;
• We are a market leader in combined heat and power, providing our customers with around 600MW of electricity and more than 1,000MW of heat at 13 sites across the country;
• We're one of the leading green generators in the UK, with 21 wind farms located from Cornwall to Northern Ireland. We also burn biomass material mixed with coal in two of our power stations and have recently completed one of the UK's largest dedicated biomass power stations at Lockerbie. Combined, our renewable portfolio generates enough green energy to power the homes in a city the size of Manchester;
• Our green development portfolio could power over a million homes and displace the emission of almost two million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year by building new onshore and offshore wind farms, biomass power stations, and tidal stream and wave power schemes;
• Our target is to cut the carbon released by each kW of electricity we generate by 10% between 2005-2012, having already reduced it by 20% since 1990;
• We have 1,300MW of renewable capacity under development;
• We invested £53 million in energy efficiency in 2006. These measures included loft and cavity wall insulation, installation of energy efficient boilers and smart metering, a technology we are investing a further £12 million in over the next two years.;
• Our non-operational carbon intensity dropped by 16.7% per employee in 2006;
• We are investing £50 million in new technologies and approaches over the next 5 years, through the Energy Technologies institute;
• We have Biodiversity Action Plans at many of our sites which align us with the UK target of significantly reducing biodiversity loss;
• E.ON Group has announced it intends to reduced the carbon intensity of its generation by 50% by 2030 (on 1990 levels);
• E.ON Group aims to spend €6bn on green generation by the end of 2010.

 

For more information contact:

Emily Highmore on 024 7618 3680