U.K. based transnational oil major Shell announced it is selling roughly 25% of its U.S. solar assets via its solar business Savion, according to an exclusive report from Reuters. The move continues a company-wide retreat from renewables investment under chief executive officer Wael Sawan.
Investment bank Jefferies is operating the sale of up to 10.6 GW of solar and energy storage assets currently in development. Reuters said it gleaned this information from a document it received that was sent to potential investors.
Savion is developing over 39 GW of solar and energy storage projects and has more than 2.3 GW of operational assets. The company was acquired by Shell in late 2021.
Shell in October 2021 announced it wants to halve its CO2 emissions – compared to its 2016 performance – this decade, including the removal of emissions from all its owned or controlled assets and from electricity it purchases.
However, this June, Sawan said the company will focus on selling and trading “low-carbon power” rather than owning generation assets, which may offer a lower rate of return. Reuters said Shell now focuses on higher-margin projects, oil output and boosting natural gas production.
Shell recently underwent staff reductions, including in its low-carbon solutions division, to save up to $3 billion.
In September 2023, Shell announced it would place PV home storage provider Sonnen for sale. Shell acquired Sonnen in 2019 for €500 million ($536.8 million). In September, German news outlet Handelsblatt values Sonnen at €1.35 billion to €1.8 billion ($1.45 billion to $1.94 billion).
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