Shell‘s New Energies Business- Shell Energy Solutions has acquired around 20 per cent stake in a solar energy solutions provider platform Orb Energy through a latest funding round.
Damian Miller, Chief Executive Officer, Orb Energy, said, “Shell’s investment will power the next phase of our growth and ensure that more underserved SMEs in India can benefit from clean, lower-cost electricity from solar.”
Orb Energy was founded by Damian Miller and NP Ramesh in 2006. Orb Energy offers credit to SMEs to invest in their own rooftop solar systems.
Shell, on the other hand, is a British-Dutch oil and gas company, headquartered in the Netherlands and incorporated in the United Kingdom. It is a global energy company and around 84,000 employees across more than 70 countries work together to power progress through more and cleaner energy solutions.
It is one of the oil and gas supermajors and the third-largest company in the world measured by 2018 revenues.
The company Orb Energy said the fresh investment would help more Indian SMEs, a largely underserved part of the market benefit from lower-cost solar power.
Since inception, the startup Orb Energy has sold more than 160,000 solar systems in India, with a total capacity of approximately 75 megawatts. Orb Energy, which employs 250 people in India, also has operations in Kenya, where it is seeking to replicate its India model.
Brian Davis, Vice President, Shell Energy Solutions, said, “We were attracted by Orb Energy’s focus on providing cleaner and affordable energy solutions to SMEs in India. This is a vital and growing sector, with great potential to contribute to the country’s renewable energy ambitions.”