Royal Dutch Shell’s plans to take on the Big Six energy suppliers include buying gas-fired power plants and building wind and solar farms in Britain.

The Anglo-Dutch oil company will use its network of 1,000 petrol stations to market the venture and sign up household and business energy customers, Maarten Wetselaar, an executive director of Shell, said. It aims eventually to offer related services, such as electric car charging in homes.

Mr Wetselaar, Shell’s head of integrated gas and new energies, told The Times: “We have daily customer contacts through our forecourts with loyalty programmes, with people trusting us and visiting us. We have a very powerful energy brand and the financial means to invest in growth.”

He said that Shell had “significant advantages” over…