Equinor Abandons 2030 Renewable Energy Target Amid Strategy Shift
Equinor's Strategic Update and Industry Context
By Nora Buli
Equinor Scales Back Renewable Energy Ambitions
OSLO, June 16 (Reuters) - Norwegian oil and gas group Equinor has further scaled back its renewable energy ambitions, dropping a 2030 installed capacity target and cutting back on investment, it said in a strategy update on Tuesday.
Industry-Wide Trend Among Oil Majors
The change reflects a wider industry trend, with peers such as BP and Shell in recent years scrapping ambitions to transition away from oil and gas towards renewable energy production.
Details of Equinor's Revised Strategy
Equinor, which on Tuesday raised its oil and gas output forecast, dropped the 2030 renewable energy capacity goal, instead providing an outlook for power generation, which also includes non-renewable electricity production technologies.
CEO Statement on Multi-Pathway Development
"We are not replacing one business with another. Instead, we are developing multiple pathways in parallel: oil and gas, power and renewables, and new low-carbon solutions," Equinor CEO Anders Opedal said in a statement.
Previous and Revised Renewable Targets
Equinor in recent years operated with a target to reach 10-12 gigawatts (GW) of installed renewable energy capacity by the end of this decade, but removed this from a list of goals it will present in a strategy update in New York on Tuesday.
The target had already been trimmed from a previous goal, set in 2020, of becoming "an offshore wind major" by installing 12-16 GW over a 10-year period.
Capital Expenditure and Power Production Outlook
Equinor last year said it no longer aimed to dedicate half its capital expenditure to renewables in the 2030s, and on Tuesday presented plans to allocate only 10% of capex to its power business.
Still, Equinor said it anticipates a fourfold increase in power production to more than 20 terawatt hours (TWh), up from 5.5 TWh in 2025, mainly from electricity projects already under construction.
Formation of Power Business Area
The move follows the establishment of Equinor's Power business area in 2025, which combined its renewable portfolio with gas-fired generation, energy storage asset and trading activities.
(Reporting by Nora Buli, editing by Terje Solsvik)
