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Shell reported adjusted earnings of $39.9 billion for the full-year 2022.

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British oil major Shell on Wednesday announced plans to boost returns to shareholders and keep oil output steady, as part of its strategy to simplify the group’s business and improve investor confidence.

Ahead of its Capital Markets Day conference in New York later in the day, Shell said it would increase shareholder distributions to 30% to 40% of cash flow from operations, up from 20% to 30% previously.

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This includes raising the dividend per share by an expected 15% from the second quarter and executing at least $5 billion of share buybacks in the second half of the year.

“Performance, discipline, and simplification will be our guiding principles as we allocate capital to enhance shareholder distributions, while enabling the energy transition,” said Shell CEO Wael Sawan.

“We will invest in the models that work – those with the highest returns that play to our strengths,” added Sawan, who took office at the start of the year after serving as director of the company’s integrated gas, renewables and energy solutions.

Shell’s focus on performance and capital discipline comes as the company seeks to close what many see as the growing gap in valuations between European and U.S. oil majors. The British oil major reported a record annual profit of nearly $40 billion for 2022.

The firm on Wednesday announced capital spending will be reduced to $22 billion to $25 billion per year for 2024 and 2025, respectively.

Shares of Shell were up 1.5% on Wednesday. The firm’s London-listed stock price is marginally lower year-to-date.

‘A collision course’ with the Paris Agreement

Shell said it would maintain oil production at current levels through to the end of the decade as part of a bid to generate more cash from its oil division. It simultaneously reiterated its commitment to climate targets, saying it was making “good progress” toward becoming a net-zero business by 2050.

The company will also seek to grow its integrated gas business while maintaining leadership in the global liquefied natural gas market.

The burning of fossil fuels, such as oil, gas and coal, is the chief driver of the climate emergency. Shell’s decision to refrain from new oil output cuts drew criticism from activist shareholder group Follow This.

Mark van Baal, founder of Follow This, on Wednesday said Shell’s growth in fossil fuels puts the company “on a collision course” with the 2015 Paris Agreement, noting the landmark climate accord calls for a halving of carbon emissions by 2030.

“The new CEO Wael Sawan would not dare to grow Shell’s fossil fuel business if more institutional investors had voted in favour of the Follow This climate resolution requesting Paris-aligned targets,” he added.

At the Shell shareholder meeting last month, support for a Follow This resolution demanding tougher emission reduction targets by the end of the decade came in at 20%. “Shell still has to answer these 20%,” van Baal said.

The Shell annual general meeting was repeatedly disrupted by protesters last month, reflecting a palpable sense of frustration during the Big Oil proxy voting season.

The world’s leading climate scientists have previously warned that the fight to keep global heating under 1.5 degrees Celsius has reached “now or never” territory, saying last year that “any further delay in concerted global action will miss a brief and rapidly closing window to secure a liveable future.”

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Nexamp found a faster way to build solar – it did the utility’s job, too

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Nexamp found a faster way to build solar – it did the utility's job, too

Nexamp just pulled off something that could speed up clean energy deployment across the US – and potentially lower costs for everyone. The Boston-based solar developer just finished building three new solar farms in Maine and Massachusetts. But instead of waiting on the utility to handle all the grid hookup work, Nexamp did it themselves.

That might not sound groundbreaking at first, but in the world of renewable energy, it’s a pretty big deal. Normally, utilities are in charge of any grid upgrades and interconnection work needed before a new solar project can start sending power to homes and businesses. That process can be very slow and expensive.

Nexamp’s new approach, called “self-performance,” flips the script. It lets developers take on some of that work, like ordering and installing equipment, so they don’t have to sit around waiting for the utility to schedule it. That means solar farms can get online faster, which gets clean power to the grid sooner and keeps project costs in check.

The three projects that kicked off this self-performance effort are:

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  • Hartland Solar – 1.2 MW DC in Hartland, ME
  • Barre Road Solar – 1.3 MW DC in New Braintree, MA
  • Summit Farm Solar – 2.6 MW DC, also in New Braintree

Nexamp didn’t go rogue – they worked closely with Central Maine Power and National Grid on the interconnection designs, safety standards, and technical specs. But by handling the actual procurement and construction, Nexamp had way more control over cost, timing, and supply chain headaches.

“Self-performance lets us take much greater control over interconnection procurement and construction,” said Daniel Passarello, Nexamp’s lead consulting engineer for grid integration. “We can move much of the interconnection work forward at the same time as the solar farm build instead of treating them as separate. That helps us bring projects online faster and stay closer to budget.”

It also helps that Nexamp already has solid relationships with suppliers. Instead of going through multiple layers of utility procurement, they can go straight to the source, fast.

That kind of streamlining is exactly what the solar industry needs right now. Community solar is booming – as of the end of 2024, nearly 8 gigawatts of it have been installed across the US, according to the the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), and that number is expected to almost double by 2030. But bottlenecks in the interconnection process slow things down.

Sara Birmingham, VP of state affairs at SEIA, called Nexamp’s move a step in the right direction. “We must modernize and streamline the interconnection process to keep pace with fast-growing demand,” she said. “Self-performance is one of several innovative approaches that can accelerate project timelines and lower costs, which benefits all ratepayers.”

Read more: Walmart and Nexamp are rolling out 31 solar farms in 5 states


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Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.

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The Genesis GV90 really does have coach doors: Here’s our first look

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The Genesis GV90 really does have coach doors: Here's our first look

When Genesis first previewed its full-size electric SUV, the coach doors were one of the biggest highlights. It looks like it will actually make its way into the production vehicle. A Genesis GV90 model was spotted in the US for the first time with coach doors, offering a glimpse of the upcoming ultra-luxury SUV.

Genesis GV90 spotted with coach doors in California

We got our first look at the full-size luxury SUV after Genesis unveiled the Neolun concept at the NY Auto Show last March.

Genesis said the concept was its “ultra-luxe vision of luxury SUVs,” and it wasn’t kidding. When it arrives, it will be sold as the GV90 as the brand’s new flagship vehicle.

The GV90 is not just a pretty-looking luxury SUV. It’s also loaded with Hyundai’s most advanced software and tech. According to Luc Donckerwolke, Genesis’ head of creative design, “it’s the epitome of timeless design and sophisticated craftsmanship.

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Last month, we got a sneak peek of the interior after a production-ready GV90 was caught in California. Although somewhat toned down from the original concept, the cabin still featured many of the same elements.

Genesis-GV90-coach-doors
Genesis Neolun ultra-luxury electric SUV concept (Source: Genesis)

Another Genesis GV90 was recently spotted in California, with actual coach doors. The new images from KindelAuto (via TheKoreanCarBlog) show a camouflaged vehicle with a hinge at the rear, where the coach doors will open.

Genesis-GV90-coach-doors
Genesis GV90 with coach doors spotted in California (Source: KindelAuto/ TheKoreanCarBlog)

Genesis said that B-pillarless coach doors are now feasible in production vehicles, like the GV90. However, don’t expect it to come standard on all models.

The feature will likely be reserved for higher-priced trims. We’ve seen other variants, featuring traditional doors, that are being tested in the US and Korea.

Genesis is expected to launch the GV90 in mid-2026. We will learn prices and final specs closer to launch, but the flagship electric SUV is set to debut on Hyundai’s new eM platform.

Hyundai said the platform is designed for EVs across all segments and will “provide a 50 percent improvement in driving range” compared to current EVs. It will also support Level 3 or higher autonomous driving capabilities and OTA software updates.

Source: KindelAuto, TheKoreanCarBlog

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Elon Musk on Tesla’s new ‘affordable’ electric car: it’s the Model Y

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Elon Musk on Tesla's new 'affordable' electric car: it's the Model Y

Elon Musk has finally confirmed that Tesla’s new ‘affordable’ electric car is just going to be the Model Y in a cheaper format.

Musk has ended months of speculations and misinformation, which he partly created, about Tesla’s upcoming cheaper electric vehicle model.

Since last year, Tesla has guided “launching new affordable models” in the first half of 2025.

We are past the first half of 2025, but Tesla confirmed yesterday that the “first build” of the new model was produced in June, and it will launch later this year.

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During the shareholders’ call following the earnings results yesterday, Tesla was asked about what the new affordable model would look like. Tesla’s CFO, Vaibhav Taneja, initially stated that they wouldn’t disclose details about the design, but then Musk interrupted him and said, “It’s a Model Y.”

It’s hard to hear exactly on the call because he talked over Taneja, but he said, “the cat is out of the bag” and confirmed that the new vehicle is simply a Model Y.

Electrek has been reporting on this fact all year. We have known for months that Tesla’s upcoming “new affordable models” are Model 3 and Model Y with a stripped-down interior with fewer features, like no rear screen, and cheaper materials:

However, this fact was not accepted in the Tesla community because CEO Elon Musk falsely denied a report last year about Tesla’s “$25,000” EV model being canceled.

The facts are that Musk canceled two cheaper vehicles that Tesla was working on, commonly referred as “the $25,000 Tesla” in early 2024. Those vehicles were codenamed NV91 and NV92, and they were based on the new vehicle platform that Tesla is now reserving for the Cybercab.

Instead, Musk noticed that Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y production lines were starting to be underutilized as the Company faced demand issues. Therefore, Tesla canceled the vehicle programs based on the new platform and decided to build new vehicles on Model 3/Y platform using the same production lines.

Now, only the new Cybercab is going to be based on the new unboxed platform.

During the conference call last night, Musk stated that the primary goal of the more affordable Model Y is to expand the market by making the vehicle more accessible to a broader audience. He suggested that it will go on sale in Q4.

Electrek’s Take

Finally, we can put this to rest. I think we can expect something similar to what Tesla did with the Model 3 in Mexico.

I think we can expect changes, such as using cloth materials instead of vegan leather, no rear display, no ambient lighting, and a lesser audio system.

In the case of the Model Y, Tesla may consider dropping some exterior lighting features, such as the light bars.

I wouldn’t be surprised also to see some powertrain changes. Maybe a less powerful RWD motor.

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