Shell to develop 20 MW PV project in southern Netherlands

Shell is planning to construct a 20 MW solar power facility at its Moerdijk chemicals site, in the Port of Moerdijk, in the south of the Netherlands.

With construction scheduled to start this year, the plant will be installed on an unused parcel of land at Shell Moerdijk, one of Europe’s largest chemicals manufacturing sites, the company said. The project will be implemented by its New Energies Business Unit.

“Shell recognises that solar will play an increasing role in tomorrow’s energy systems. This project demonstrates our capability to develop differentiated solutions and deliver commercially attractive projects on behalf of industrial customers,” said Shell’s New Energies Business vice-president Marc van Gerven.

Shell has recently expanded its presence in the solar and renewable energy sector. In August, its corporate venturing arm, Shell Technology Ventures B.V. agreed to acquire an undisclosed stake in clean energy integrator Sunseap, which is headquartered in Singapore and active in the Asia Pacific solar sector. Later in December, it also acquired First Utility, which is the largest independent energy company in the U.K.

On the top of this, the oil giant is also planning to build a  250 MW PV park in Australia, and it has recently invested in firms willing to construct solar PV systems on schools in Oman.

“We believe the number of customers choosing solar power will continue to grow. We are working to help meet this demand and have, for example, invested in the Singapore-based Sunseap Group. At the same time, we are looking to expand the deployment of solar PV in our own operations,” the company states on its website. The group is currently testing different PV technologies at the Solar Zone at UA Tech Park, in the United States.