Shell to Fully Acquire US Green Firm Inspire Energy Capital

Shell New Energies US LLC has signed an agreement to buy 100% of the equity interests of Inspire Energy Capital LLC, a renewable energy residential retailer with joint headquarters in Santa Monica, CA and Philadelphia, PA.

Shell New Energies, a subsidiary of oil major Royal Dutch Shell plc, focuses on two main areas: new fuels for transport, such as advanced biofuels and hydrogen; and power, being involved at almost every stage of the process, from generating electricity through wind and solar, to buying and selling it, to supplying it directly to customers.

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, said the company. Subject to regulatory clearance and the satisfaction of closing conditions, the deal is expected to be completed by Q4 of 2021.

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“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,” added Brinton.

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.

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The acquisition is expected to facilitate Shell’s digital ambitions in the power sector by utilizing data-driven, digitally enabled platforms to simplify customers’ decarbonization journeys.

Recently, the Anglo-Dutch company launched “Digital track” for Indian start ups under its E4 Programme to accelerate its digital transformation. E4 will collaborate with technology, venture, government, academia partners, eminent coaches & industry expert mentors to enable digital start-ups to achieve industry readiness and implement strategies for scaling & global expansion in the Industrial & Energy verticals, said Shell.

Shell believes that achieving its net-zero emissions target could mean that the company doubles the amount of electricity sold and provides enough renewable electricity to power 50 million households by 2030.

Although Shell has set a target to be a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050, the energy giant has recently been under fire for its unwillingness to regulate its Scope 3 emissions, i.e. the emissions released by the consumers of its products, such as utility companies and gas stations that are providers of electricity and gasoline.

In May this year, seven activist groups won a lawsuit against Royal Dutch Shell, which is headquartered in the Netherlands. The Hague District Court ruled that Shell must reduce its CO2 emissions by net 45%, as opposed to the self-given goal of 20%, by 2030, compared to 2019 levels.