UPDATE 3-Enbridge sees hit from delay in start of Line 9 pipeline

(Recasts with new lead, CEO comments on offshore wind
investment)
By Mike De Souza
CALGARY, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Enbridge Inc ENB.TO , Canada's
largest pipeline company, said on Thursday it was moving into
offshore wind development as part of a broader shift in the
coming decades away from carbon-intensive energy.
Enbridge President and Chief Executive Officer Al Monaco
made the comments after the company said a delay in starting up
a pipeline to transport crude from Ontario to Quebec will hurt
its adjusted earnings for the year.
The Calgary-based company's stock was down about 2 percent
in early morning trading.
Enbridge, which has faced opposition to pipeline projects
from environmental groups seeking to block fossil fuel
expansion, said the new investment of C$750 million ($570.04
million) would give it a 24.9 per cent interest in the Rampion
Offshore Wind Project in the UK, under construction by a
subsidiary of E.ON SE EONGn.DE . urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1304J3
After investing over C$4 billion in renewable power
generation projects over the past decade, Monaco said Enbridge
thought it was prudent to work with an established partner for
its first investment in offshore wind.
Enbridge's earnings in the coming decades would continue to
be driven by its oil and gas transportation, he added.
"We'd all agree that if you look to the future, we're going
to see a lower carbon intensity in our economy," Monaco said.
"The other part of the equation though, for us, fundamentally,
is these investments, need to generate good risk-adjusted
returns."
The company said it now expects full-year adjusted earnings
to fall within the lower half of the estimated range of
C$2.05-C$2.35 per share.
Canadian regulators approved the additional test results of
the Enbridge Line 9 crude oil pipeline in September, clearing
the way for the delayed 300,000 barrel-per-day route to the east
of the country.
The 639-km (400-mile) pipeline, which will replace supplies
currently shipped by rail or imported from abroad, was expected
to start operating in early 2015.
Enbridge's adjusted earnings rose 15.7 percent to C$399
million or 47 Canadian cents per share, in the third quarter
ended Sept. 30, from a year earlier. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nCCNcxbzD
Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 48 cents per
share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The company's Mainline system, which moves the bulk of
Canadian crude exports to the United States, shipped an average
of 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) in the third quarter ended
Sept. 30, compared with 2.0 million bpd a year earlier.
($1 = 1.3157 Canadian dollars)