Shell, oil company with outsized renewable energy ambitions

Oil major Royal Dutch Shell in February said it would eliminate net carbon emissions by 2050, raising its ambition from previous targets, and seems to be matching intention with action buying up renewable energy firms and making inroads into power trading, hydrogen, and biofuels markets.

Its latest effort in this regard is the acquisition of 100 percent of the equity interests of Inspire Energy Capital LLC (Inspire), a renewable energy residential retailer with joint headquarters in Santa Monica, CA and Philadelphia, PA by Shell New Energies US LLC, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc.

The company said this acquisition advances Shell’s Powering Progress strategy to build and scale renewable and low-carbon businesses with a target to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050, in step with society.

“Our goal is to become a major provider of renewable and low-carbon energy and this acquisition moves us a step closer to achieving that,” said Elisabeth Brinton, Executive Vice President of Renewables & Energy Solutions at Shell.

“This deal instantly expands our business-to-consumer power offerings in key regions in the U.S., and we are well-positioned to build on Inspire’s advanced digital capabilities to allow more households to benefit from renewable and low-carbon energy.”

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Inspire offers renewable energy to customers via a variety of innovative services and subscription plans and incentivizes customers to manage energy usage via a rewards program within its mobile app. The acquisition accelerates Shell’s digital ambitions in the power sector by utilizing data-driven, digitally-enabled platforms to simplify customers’ decarbonization journeys.

On February 11, 2021, Shell set forth its Powering Progress strategy, including details of how it will achieve its target to be a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050, in step with society’s progress as it works towards the Paris Agreement goal of limiting the increase in the average global temperature to 1.5°C.

Achieving its net-zero emissions target could mean that Shell doubles the amount of electricity sold and provides enough renewable electricity to power 50 million households by 2030. Subject to regulatory clearance and the satisfaction of closing conditions, the deal is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2021.

Prior to unveiling its strategy, in February, four months earlier, the company had said it would ramp up spending on low-carbon energy to 25 percent of overall capital expenditure by 2025.

This will require a broad focus on clean power, investments in renewable energy projects and hydrogen projects. In Nigeria, Shell-seeded All On is investing in early-stage off-grid entrepreneurs through a series of energy challenges where innovative projects are given seed funding to scale up for the wider market.

Shell plans to boost its consumer base by expanding its electricity supply business for homes and its network of electric vehicle charging points, as well as signing long-term corporate power purchase agreements (PPA).

Shell already has 45,000 retail outlets worldwide, far more than its European rivals, and it is planning to add another 10,000 by 2025.

The company, which is already a major biofuel producer, seeks to ramp up its production of fuel made from plants and waste as an alternative source of energy for transportation.