ASSESSMENTS

In the Energy Sector, a New Kind of Hybrid Emerges

Feb 16, 2018 | 09:00 GMT

Wind turbines spin alongside the Drax power station, the biggest coal-fired plant in Europe.

Wind turbines near Selby, England, spin alongside the Drax coal-fired power station.

(CHRISTOPHER FURLONG/Getty Images)

Highlights

Fossil fuel companies will continue to invest in green technologies, either through external acquisitions or through in-house initiatives, as renewable solutions such as solar power, wind power and energy storage become cheaper and more prevalent.
Companies in Europe are leading the push, but firms in Asia and the Americas will catch up.
As the costs of green technologies keep falling and more companies realize the benefits of diversifying their energy sources, a new class of hybrid energy firms will emerge, helping to ease hostilities between the fossil fuel and renewable energy sectors.

The global transition away from fossil fuels and toward more sustainable energy sources is well underway. Though the rise of green technologies such as solar panels or electric vehicles may seem to bode ill for the international oil industry, many oil companies are trying to change with the times. Royal Dutch/Shell, for example, spent $217 million in January to buy a 43.8 percent stake in Silicon Ranch, a U.S.-based solar developer. Rather than competing against low-carbon technologies, fossil fuel companies are increasingly working to incorporate them, setting the stage for a new class of hybrid firms to emerge in the global energy industry....

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