“The move toward renewable energy and gas generation is a trend<br />that won’t stop anytime soon so every power generator is trying to develop a strategy where they can benefit from the transition period.”<br />David Crane, a former chief executive, had tried to do<br />that by transforming the company into the Google of green energy, investing in big renewable-energy projects and buying small start-ups to help capture emerging markets like rooftop solar, electric-vehicle charging and home automation.<br />But in an emailed statement on Thursday, Elliott said<br />that if a buyer in the market were willing to pay a premium for some of NRG’s renewables businesses, “it may be a good decision for NRG and its shareholders to crystallize that value.”<br />Most of the company’s power plants run on fossil fuels like coal and natural gas,<br />but it has extensive wind and solar farms, including several unfinished projects it bought last year from SunEdison, which had gone bankrupt.<br />“The debate is simply over who is the best long-term owner of individual assets and fleets of assets<br />that currently reside inside the broader NRG portfolio.”<br />Mr. Smitherman and Mr. Wilder are two of three independent board members on a five-member committee formed as part of the agreement with Elliott<br />and Bluescape to make recommendations about cost savings, asset sales and other potential actions, according to Mr. Stringer’s letter.<br />The conflict has its roots in efforts led by Elliott Management, a multibillion-dollar hedge fund run by Paul E. Singer,<br />and Bluescape Energy Partners, run by C. John Wilder, a former executive at the Texas utility TXU who has been credited with its turnaround.
