A US subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc, Shell New Energies US LLC has entered an agreement to acquire a 100% stake in renewable energy retailer Inspire Energy Capital LLC, for an undisclosed amount. The deal is expected to close by Q4/2021, which is when Inspire Energy will operate under its existing brand within Shell's Renewables and Energy Solutions integrated power business.
Its acquisition will enable Shell to augment the latter's existing position as a power supplier to residential customers in the US alongside the wholly owned subsidiary of Shell Energy North America, MP2 Energy.
Inspire Energy caters to providing 100% clean energy to residential segment in the US through 'innovative services and subscription plans', while incentivizing customers to manage their energy usage under a rewards program within its mobile app, explained Shell. It has close to 235,000 residential customers in several US states.
For Inspire Energy, Shell's 'resources, reach and ownership of many aspects of the energy value chain' will help it scale and advance, added Founder and CEO of the company Patrick Maloney.
For the oil and gas giant, this acquisition accelerates its 'digital ambitions in the power sector' by utilizing data-driven, digitally enabled platforms helping customers simplify their decarbonization journey, while also enabling its 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 (see Shell To Invest In Renewables, But More On Oil & Gas).
"This deal instantly expands our business-to-consumer power offerings in key regions in the US, 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," said Shell's Executive Vice President of Renewables & Energy Solutions, Elisabeth Brinton.
In February 2021, Shell moved to acquire German virtual power plants operator Next Kraftwerke (see Shell To Acquire German Virtual Power Plant Company).