* Dutch aim to reach 4,500 MW offshore wind capacity by 2023
* Shell, Eneco, van Oord NV in bid consortium
* Germany teams up with Macquarie Capital to bid
* Vattenfall submits bid alone (Updates throughout)
By Karolin Schaps
LONDON, May 13 (Reuters) - Some of Europe's biggest energycompanies, including Shell, RWE andVattenfall, are competing in a Dutch offshore windtender seen as one of the biggest green energy projects on offerin Europe this year.
The Dutch government has an ambitious target to more thanquadruple its offshore wind energy capacity by 2023 to lowerclimate-harming carbon emissions from energy production.
Many other European governments lack a clear framework todeliver renewable energy projects after 2020, making the Dutchtender an attractive one for investors.
In a first round, the government has offered two offshorewind sites at Borssele that can each house wind farms with acapacity of 350 megawatts (MW).
A second tender for two further sites at Borssele will closein September, making the entire project of 1,370 MW one of thebiggest European offshore wind tenders in recent years. A fifthsite of 20 MW is set reserved for innovation projects.
Anglo-Dutch oil major Shell in partnership with Dutch energysupplier Enerco and contractor Van Oord NV. Germanutility has found a co-investor in Macquarie Capital,while Swedish utility Vattenfall has announced a bid on its own.
Dutch media have named Denmark's Dong Energy
Dong Energy declined to comment but said the Dutch marketwas interesting because it is a consistent programme with fivetenders.
The Netherlands has a yearly offshore wind tender programmein place out to 2019 that aims to push installed capacity to4,500 MW by 2023.
Offshore wind energy is one of the most potent forms ofrenewable energy as technological advances have alloweddevelopers to build offshore wind farms bigger in capacity thana small gas-fired power plant.
However, constructing these huge projects in treacherousconditions and the relative infancy of the industry means it isone of the most expensive forms of energy to build. (Additional reporting by Toby Sterling and Thomas Escritt inAmsterdam and Nerijus Adomaitis in London; Editing by RuthPitchford)
