Shell to acquire part of U.S. solar business

HOUSTON, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- A unit of Shell Oil Company announced Monday that it has signed an agreement to acquire nearly half of Silicon Ranch Corporation, a solar developer based in Nashville, Tennessee.

Shell will pay between 193 million and 217 million U.S. dollars if the deals meet regulatory approval, and Shell will also be able to increase its ownership of the company after 2021. Initially, Shell hopes to acquire 43.83 percent of Silicon Ranch.

"Partnering with Silicon Ranch Corporation progresses our New Energies strategy and provides our U.S. customers with additional solar renewable options," said Marc van Gerven, Shell vice president of solar. "With this entry into the fast-growing solar sector, Shell is able to leverage its expertise as one of the top three wholesale power sellers in the U.S., while expanding its global new energies footprint."

This investment is part of Shell's New Energies power portfolio, which prioritizes low carbon generation and storage. Shell's interest in Silicon Ranch includes an existing portfolio of approximately 880 megawatts of projects in operation or contracted.

Silicon Ranch Corporation, a developer, owner, and operator of solar energy plants in the United States, has a project and development funnel portfolio of approximately 1.9 gigawatts of capacity.

Shell Oil Company is the United States-based wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, a multinational "oil major" of Anglo-Dutch origins, which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Its U.S. headquarters are in Houston, Texas. Enditem