(Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa) Plc rebranded its U.K. utility business and switched all customers to renewable power, strengthening its clean-energy credentials as it prepares for a future beyond oil.
First Utility Ltd., which the Anglo-Dutch major bought last year, has been rebranded as Shell Energy and the power provided to its 700,000 customers in the U.K. will now come from renewable sources of energy such as wind, solar and biomass, it said in a statement.
“Shell recognizes the world needs more energy with lower emissions and this will give customers more flexibility, greater control and cleaner energy,” said Mark Gainsborough, executive vice president of Shell New Energies US LLC.
Shell Energy will also offer a range of smart home devices, such as thermostats, and discounts on home electric vehicle chargers for its customers.
“We are building on the disruptive nature of First Utility to give customers something better,” said Colin Crooks, chief executive officer of Shell Energy Retail Ltd. “We know that renewable electricity is important to them and we are delivering that, while ensuring good value and rewarding loyalty.”
Shell plans to become the world’s biggest power company within 15 years and is spending as much as $2 billion a year on its new-energies division, a move that suggests it sees climate change as a significant threat to the fossil fuel business.
Alongside First Utility, Shell has made other acquisitions in power including car-charging operator NewMotion and a stake in U.S. solar company Silicon Ranch Corp. It has also announced it’s bidding for Dutch utility Eneco Group NV, which provides low-carbon power to industrial users and offers apps and other technology to manage electricity consumption. Shell also entered a bid to expand an offshore wind farm in the Netherlands.
