Shell's U.S. solar business Savion has put around a quarter of its assets up for sale, according to a marketing document and industry sources, as the oil major extends a retreat from owning renewables projects under CEO Wael Sawan.
Investment bank Jefferies is running the sale of up to 10.6
gigawatts (GW) of solar generation and storage assets currently in development,
or parts of those projects, according to the document sent to potential
investors and seen by Reuters.
The total value of the assets, located in the northeast,
southeast and west of the United States, was unclear. Project valuations often
depend on power prices where they are located.
Spokespeople for Shell and Jefferies declined to comment.
Savion is developing 39.1 GW of solar and storage projects,
and has completed sites with capacity of more than 2.3 GW, according to its
website.
Shell acquired Savion for an undisclosed sum in December
2021 as part of a drive under former CEO Ben van Beurden to grow in the
low-carbon energy market and reduce its carbon footprint.
Over two years on, the sale process marks the latest step in
Shell's shift under Sawan, who has vowed to focus on the most profitable
businesses since taking office in January 2023.
In June, Sawan said Shell wanted to focus on accessing
low-carbon power which it could sell and trade rather than owning the
generation assets, where returns are usually lower.
Shell now aims to focus on higher-margin projects, steady
oil output and boosting natural gas production.
Renewables valuations have decreased but these assets will
remain pivotal to the energy transition and generate attention as interest
rates begin to decline, KPMG said in a report earlier this month.
Selling the U.S. portfolio, dubbed "Dasher," will
allow Savion to "focus on executing on Shell's integrated power markets
strategy," the document said.
Shell recently sold its power retail businesses in Britain
and Germany, exited a number of floating offshore wind projects and reduced its
hydrogen business. It is also seeking to exit some refining operations and its
onshore oil business in Nigeria.
Shell has also started to make company-wide staff
reductions, including in its low-carbon solutions division, in a drive to save
up to $3 billion.
0 comments:
Post a Comment