Bloomberg
SSE Plc’s shares jumped after the utility committed to building a giant onshore wind park that’ll be key to the UK’s fight to slash its carbon emissions.
The 443-megawatt Shetland Island wind farm is part of a $9.4 billion spending spree announced by the Scottish utility on Wednesday that’ll go towards decarbonisation projects in the next five years.
Shares rose as much as 10% to their highest since March 11, the biggest gain on the Stoxx 600 Index.
“The world is facing twin crises with the economic impact of coronavirus and the climate emergency and the only route forward is to unlock investment,†said Chief Executive Officer Alistair Phillips-Davies.
SSE’s big spending on the energy transition still pales in comparison to some of its bigger, more global rivals.
Spanish utility Iberdrola SA, which operates as Scottish Power in the UK, said it’ll invest 10 billion euros ($11 billion) this year alone. While Orsted A/S, the world’s biggest developer of offshore wind, said at the end of 2018 that it plans to spend $30 billion by 2030.
Those companies are in an increasingly competitive race to capture market share for offshore wind around the world. SSE is so far focussed on its home market where the government has pledged to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
The 580 million-pound Viking project will be built in the Shetland islands north of Scotland, and will send electricity to the mainland. SSE expects a decision from regulator Ofgem on the power link next month, it said in the statement.
With island wind farms, SSE will be able to capture many of the benefits of building offshore, but without some of the extra costs and complications.