Total invests in renewables, energy efficiency

French oil major Total which recently announced the acquisition of Maersk Oil for $7.45 billion, is also investing in energy efficiency and renewables businesses.

The company on Tuesday announced a partnership with EREN Renewable Energy to expand its renewable business. On the same day, Total said it had acquired GreenFlex, a French company specialized in energy efficiency.

In its deal with EREN, Total will acquire an indirect interest of 23% in EREN RE by subscribing to a capital increase for an amount of €237.5 million. The agreement also gives Total the possibility to take over control of EREN RE after a period of 5 years.

Founded in 2012, EREN RE has developed a diversified asset base (notably wind, solar and hydro) representing a global installed gross capacity of 650 MW in operation or under construction. Its ambition is to achieve a global installed capacity of more than 3 GW within 5 years. The capital increase subscribed by Total will enable EREN RE to cover its financing needs to accelerate its development in the coming years.

“Total integrates climate challenge into its strategy and is pursuing steady growth in low-carbon businesses, in particular in renewable energy. By partnering with EREN RE, we are leveraging a team that has a proven track record in renewable power production, and we are investing in an additional asset to accelerate our profitable growth in this segment, in line with our ambition to become the responsible energy major. So we welcome to Total Eren into the Total Group!” said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of Total.

“EREN RE’s momentum will allow us to accelerate our growth in solar energy and move us into the wind power market. The agreement with EREN RE is a major step towards our objective of achieving 5GW of installed capacity in 5 years,” said Philippe Sauquet, President Gas, Renewables and Power. “In line with the Group’s integrated strategy along the oil and gas value chains, we are rebalancing our portfolio in renewables between the upstream manufacturing with SunPower and the downstream power production with EREN RE. Today we want to provide this high-potential company with the means to reach a new level and support its ambitions for international development.”

Pâris Mouratoglou, Chairman of EREN RE, said: “This strategic agreement allows us to join forces with a major energy player, with whom we share a strong desire for development in the renewable energy sector and an ambitious long-term vision. Our positioning is global and the Total Group’s strength in international markets represents a tremendous accelerator “.

GreenFlex