Posted on 03/17/2009 11:15:23 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
Royal Dutch Shell provoked a furious backlash from campaigners yesterday when it announced plans to scale back its renewable energy business and focus purely on oil, gas and biofuels.
Jeroen van der Veer, the chief executive, said that Shell, the world's second-largest non-state-controlled oil company, was planning to drop all new investment in wind, solar and hydrogen energy.
“I don't expect them to grow much at Shell from here, due to portfolio fit and the returns outlook compared to other opportunities,” he said, speaking at the Anglo-Dutch group's annual strategy briefing.
He said that instead Shell would focus its remaining renewable energy investments on biofuels, where it is conducting research into “second generation” fuels, so far with little commercial success.
Linda Cook, who heads Shell's gas and power business, said that wind and solar power “struggle to compete with the other investment opportunities we have in our portfolio”.
The announcement, which comes as Shell is fighting to maintain its commitments on dividends (which it will increase by 5 per cent this year) and its core oil and gas business in the face of a more than $100 slide in the price of crude since last summer, triggered a furious response from green groups.
John Sauven, the executive director of Greenpeace UK, said that Shell had “rejoined the ranks of the dirtiest, most regressive corporations in the world ... After years of proclaiming their commitment to clean power, they're now pulling out of the technologies we need to see scaled up if we're to slash emissions.”
A spokesman for the Department for Energy and Climate Change said: “We believe renewables have a strong future as part of the UK and global energy mix in the fight against climate change.”
Shell has invested $1.7billion on alternative energy in the past five years,
(Excerpt) Read more at business.timesonline.co.uk ...
Good for Shell. Sounds like they want to give the fast-dying ‘60s generation and their antiquated ideas the heave-ho and concentrate on living in the 21st century.
You don’t like carbon? OK, no carbon for you!
Guess they realized they just couldn’t afford the boutique “Green” causes and dropped them.
Obama’s poor economy killed the green economy
They see NO POSIIBILTY of EVER making a profit on these ventures, be sure.
Yup. :-)
without heavy taxes on gas, coal and other things and heavy subsidies the ‘renewals’ don’t make economic sense on a large scale
Nonsense, John Sauven you moron, Shell just realized what a worthless investment wind and solar power was, and what a scam your "global warming" crap is, and what a bunch of LIARS you and your fraudulant "scientists" are. Shell has chosen instead to cut their losses in those unfeasible windmill eyesores which are the real environmental disasters on this planet.
Plus shell has realized from studies and reports from REAL scientists that there is no need to "slash emissions", because CO2 is NOT a pollutant! CO2 is one of the most abundant and necessary elements on earth. And most of all, CO2 does NOT cause global warming.
Further, THERE IS NO GLOBAL WARMING! The last TEN years have been GLOBAL COOLING!
Not only that, REAL scientists are now saying this cooling will continue for at LEAST ten more years, perhaps as long as 30!
Plus, all the CO2 "emissions" that are man made are minuscule, and easily absorbed within 4 years by natures largest carbon sink, the oceans, which you and your IPCC "scientists' conveniently omitted from your "Gore-Bull warming" models.
No John, Shell doesn't need to waste it's money and time on stupid things like windmills, they need to find more oil because it's going to be cold for the next 10 years at least!
So go ram your boat into an ice burg, John, and hopefully sink.
Does this mean we get some sensible commercials, then?
It seems that people with an actual stake in the matter don't share such irrational beliefs.
Happy thought for the day! Kind of... ; )
It looks like I will now go out of my way to buy Shell gas.
An oil company focusing on oil. Go figure.
This is a clear signal to buy Shell. They're dumping the non-sensical, non-economic, money-losing "renewable" energy. Is rationality coming back to the oil industry?
John and the anonymous spokesman should be thrilled. This is their opportunity to seize the staff of leadership from Shell. The Greens should finance their quest for unlimited energy from sunbeams and fairy breath. They alone will be able to reap the astonishing rewards and finance their green ambitions into the next millennium.
Or maybe they would rather risk somebody else's money on a pipe dream.
No mention of the fact that Citigroup is now majority owned/controlled by the Obama/US Government.
Shares are down about 3.5% in pre market.
Anyone happen to know if RDS is one the producers which does NOT get its crude from the mideast barbarians ?
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