Shell Energy has sealed a sales deal with industrial combine Norsk Hydro intended to strip carbon from the client’s operations.
The three-year agreement will cover the annual supply of 144 GWh of natural gas and 56 gigawatt hours of renewable electricity to the combine’s six UK sites.
Today’s announcement with an industrial client falls outside the terms of Octopus Energy’s purchase, agreed last week, of Shell Energy’s household customers in the UK & Germany.
As part of today’s deal arrangement for a major industrial customer, Shell Energy will source REGO-accredited electricity generated by the Rhyl Flats windfarm.
Located 8 kilometres off Llandudno, that 25-turbine marine park is rated at 90MW. RWE, the generator-retailer of German heritage, owns a controlling 50.1%, with the balance divided equally between Macquarie’s Green Investment Group and Schroder’s Greencoat UK Wind.
Sourcing from Rhyl Flats, already a close co-operator with Shell, demonstrates, the firm says, its ability to provide 100% renewable electricity with guaranteed REGOs, as a means to helping its customers decarbonise their operations and accelerate their transition towards Net Zero emissions.
Headquartered in Oslo, Hydro serves markets including aluminium production, energy, metal recycling, renewables and battery manufacturing. From British locations including Gloucester, Cheltenham & Wrexham its primary activities include extrusion, fabrication, recycling, die manufacturing and surface treatment.
Hydro positions itself as a leader in securing a more sustainable future and creating more viable societies by turning natural resources into products and solutions in innovative and efficient ways.
Its product portfolio includes sustainable offerings proclaimed as significantly less carbon intensive to produce than the global average of primary virgin aluminium.
Hydro’s energy portfolio manager Lars Lysbakken commented: “While extensive research & development are helping to lower significantly the carbon intensity of our products, looking for new and innovative solutions to help decarbonise our wider operations is considered a board-level priority.
“When it came to finding the perfect energy partner, we wanted to identify a long-term collaborator that could support our transition to Net Zero.
“Shell’s ability to provide REGO certificates from the Rhyl Flats Offshore Wind Farm was another important part of the agreement. While we’re committed to using less energy, it’s positive to know that our operations will now be powered entirely by asset-specific renewable electricity.”
Shell claims to have invested $4.3 billion last year alone in low-carbon energy production. It has also reduced its own Scope 1 and 2 absolute emissions by 30%.
To help to transform the energy system, the company is focused on driving a shift towards renewable electricity; developing low and zero-carbon alternatives including biofuels, hydrogen, and low- carbon gases.
Shell Energy’s head of commercial sales Greg Kavanagh, pictured centre, added: “Rather than a transactional agreement, we see our contracts as long-term strategic collaborations that provide Shell Energy with the opportunity to accelerate customer progress in reaching net-zero emissions”.
Correction: An earlier version of this story implied that Shell owned the Rhyl Flats windfarm. The Energyst is happy to clarify the facility’s ownership as above.
