Shell Sells Part Ownership In 2 US Renewable Projects To InfraRed Capital

Savion Equity, Shell Wind Energy, Shell Wind Energy Inc. and Savion Equity, LLC, subsidiaries of Shell plc (Shell), have agreed to sell partial ownership stake in two U.S.-based renewable energy projects to InfraRed Capital Partners (InfraRed).

Shell will sell 60% interest in Brazos Wind Holdings, LLC (Brazos), a 182-megawatt (MW) onshore wind farm in Fluvanna, Texas, and 50% interest in Madison Fields Class B Member, LLC (Madison Fields), a 180-MW solar development in Madison County, Ohio.

“This agreement follows our guidance at Shell’s Capital Markets Day to pursue dilutions in ownership from power interests while maintaining access to renewable electrons via select offtake agreements,” said Glenn Wright, Senior Vice President Shell Energy Americas. “We continue to take a disciplined approach within our current renewables portfolio, aiming to work with partners and focus on opportunities where we can integrate across the value chain through trading and optimization.”

Through the current agreement, Shell will retain 100% of power offtake from the Brazos project through Shell Energy North America (US) L.P. The Madison Fields solar project will retain an existing corporate power purchase agreement in place with a third party. Shell will be the asset manager of Brazos and Madison Fields, and both projects will benefit from Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credits.

The sale of both assets is expected to be completed by early 2024, with a December 2023 effective date.

Savion, founded in 2019, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell and operates independently on a stand-alone basis. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, Savion develops large-scale solar and energy storage projects across 33 states.
The Brazos wind farm is located in Fluvanna, Texas. Brazos is currently undergoing a repower and is expected to generate 182 MW once completed in early 2024.
The Madison Fields solar project is located in Madison County, Ohio. Madison Fields is under development and is expected to generate 180 MW once completed by year-end 2023.

For Shell, the focus on renewables has fallen well short of expectations so far, with the firm even dressing up investments into gas infrastructure as green investments in a bid to cover up the obvious misses. With less than 2% of investments actually into solar and wind, the oil firm has tracked many peers who propose solutions through green hydrogen and worse, unproven CCS technologies to cover up a poor emissions record.