The American arm of oil supermajor Shell has finalised a deal to take over residential renewables retailer Inspire Energy as part of wider plans to expand its clean-power and low-carbon portfolio in the US.
The acquisition of California-headquartered Inspire, which has 235,000 residential customers in the states including Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Washington DC, aims to “augment” Shell New Energies US’ existing market position as a home power supplier alongside MP2 Energy, bought by Shell Energy North America in 2017.
“Our goal is to become a major provider of renewable and low-carbon energy and this acquisition moves a step closer to achieving that,” said Elizabeth Brinton, Shell’s executive vice president of renewable and energy solutions.
“This deal instantly expands our business-to-consumer power offering in key regions in the US and we are well-positioned to build on Inspire’s advance digital capabilities to allow more households to benefit from renewable and low-carbon energy.”
The take-over of IEC, the value of which was not disclosed, is designed to advance the company’s ‘Powering Progress’ strategy to become a net-zero emissions business by 2050, Shell said in a statement.
The acquisition is expected to be completed by Q4.
In May, a court in the Netherlands ordered Shell to reduce CO2 emissions by 45% by 2030 against 2019 levels, a major step up from its commitment to a carbon intensity reduction of its products of 20% by 2030 and 45% by 2035, compared to 2016 levels, as part of a 2050 net zero push.
