This Danish Co. Owns 29% of the World's Offshore Wind Capacity

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The WSJ takes a look at some huge international wind farms and the ability to compete cost effectively with coal and gas.

A Shell-led consortium won a bid this month to build and run parts of what has been hailed as the world’s largest offshore wind project, in the Netherlands.

Upon completion, Shell’s portion of the so called Borssele wind project in the North Sea will give off enough energy to power about a million homes at prices that are comparable to cheaper power sources like coal or gas.

Other oil firms have also ventured into wind energy partly because of the falling costs of renewable technology.

Denmark’s state-owned Dong Energy AS sold off a portion of its fossil-fuels business and is now the biggest player in offshore wind. It owns 29% of the world’s offshore wind capacity. Norway’s Statoil ASA is building its third offshore wind farm in the Baltic Sea, and is developing the world’s first floating wind farm off the east coast of Scotland.

Statoil also won a bid for a potential project in the Atlantic Ocean south of Long Island—its first offshore wind lease in the U.S.