Shell to buy renewable energy company

The Royal Dutch Shell oil and gas company will buy a renewable energy company as part of its goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

The oil company’s Shell New Energies U.S. LLC unit is set to purchase Inspire Energy Capital LLC, a renewable energy company that serves around 235,000 U.S. customers in states including New Jersey, New York, Ohio and Washington, D.C, according to Reuters.

The deal is expected to close by the fourth quarter of this year.

This move comes just a few months after a Dutch court ordered Shell to cut its emissions by 45 percent by 2030 in order to adhere to goals set by the Paris Climate Agreement.

The court gave Shell “complete freedom in how it meets its reduction obligation and in shaping the Shell group’s corporate policy.”

Shell called the ruling a “disappointing court decision” at the time, arguing that it was already “investing billions of dollars in low-carbon energy, including electric vehicle charging, hydrogen, renewables and biofuels.”

“We want to grow demand for these products and scale up our new energy businesses even more quickly,” the company added.

Reuters noted that oil companies like Shell are facing pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from investors. Shell has committed to raising its spending on renewable and low-carbon technology by 25 percent of its budget by 2025.