Royal Dutch Shell to spend $1bn a year on its renewable energy division
London — Royal Dutch Shell plans to spend as much as $1bn a year on its New Energies division as the transition toward renewable power and electric cars accelerates. "In some parts of the world we are beginning to see battery electric cars starting to gain consumer acceptance" while wind and solar costs are falling fast, Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said in a speech in Istanbul on Monday. "All of this is good news for the world and must accelerate," while still offering opportunities for producers of fossil fuels. Shell sees opportunities in hydrogen fuel-cells, liquefied natural gas and next-generation biofuels for air travel, shipping and heavy freight — areas of transport for which batteries aren’t adequate. The intermittent nature of wind and solar energy meant that power plants fired by natural gas would have a long-term role, Van Beurden said. Van Beurden was addressing the World Petroleum Congress — a gathering of ministers and CEOs from some of the largest oil producers — at a ...
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