Royal Dutch/Shell Will Invest $500 Million in Renewable Energy

The Royal Dutch/Shell Group, one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, announced recently that it would invest $500 million over the next five years in renewable energy technology. The company is setting up a fifth core business,

Shell International Renewables, to broaden its involvement in renewable energy technology, including photovoltaics (PV) and biomass. Shell believes that renewables will supply 50% of the world’s power by the middle of the next century. By 2020, the company expects renew-ables to grow to a $245 billion per year business, up from $10 billion today. Shell, which operates PV plants in Japan and the Netherlands, expects to capture 10% of the solar energy market by 2005. Demand for PVs will increase by 15% per year, while costs drop 4% per year, SIR President Jim Dawson predicted in an October 16 news conference.