Shell Makes First U.K. Solar Investments Amid Power Expansion – EQ Mag Pro

Royal Dutch Shell Plc will make investments with two firms to develop its first solar-power projects in the U.K.

The oil and gas giant signed agreements with Island Green Power Ltd. to develop a project with more than 700 megawatts of generation capacity, and another with Clearstone Energy Ltd. for projects with a combined export capacity of 100 megawatts. Both will be subject to final investment decisions.

Shell, like its European Big Oil peers, has committed to scaling back its traditional oil and gas business in favor of cleaner sources of energy, with electricity as a cornerstone of its transition strategy.

Unlike its competitors, Shell has mostly focused on long-term power purchase agreements or making smaller investments in technology companies. That compares with billion-dollar investments by the likes of BP Plc in wind power or TotalEnergies SE’s acquistion of a stake in Indian renewables firm Adani Green Energy Ltd.

Shell does already own a power provider in the U.K., after its 2018 acquisition of First Utility Ltd. Shell Energy, as the rebranded company is now called, is expanding, having taken on Green Supplier Ltd.’s customers after it collapsed last month.

Source: Bloomberg