Total Bolsters Renewable Portfolio with Texas Buys

Total (NYSE: TOT) has revealed that it is acquiring a development pipeline of 2.2 gigawatts (GW) of solar projects, and 600 megawatts of battery storage assets, in Texas.

The pipeline consists of four large-scale solar projects, each with co-located battery energy storage systems, in industrial areas close to Houston that have high demand for electricity, Total noted. Construction of the first two projects is expected to start later this year and all projects are expected to  come online between 2023 and 2024.

The projects are being purchased from SunChase Power, which is a renewable energy company focused on developing utility-scale energy projects, and MAP RE/ES, a private energy investment firm. The remuneration paid by Total to Sunchase and MAP RE/ES will be in staged payment as the projects advance, Total revealed, without disclosing the amount.

“I am very pleased that Total is further contributing to the development of solar power in the U.S,” Patrick Pouyanne, the chairman and chief executive officer of Total, said in a company statement. “We look forward to taking advantage of the many growth opportunities in the U.S. market to address the challenges of the energy transition,” he added.

“With this latest acquisition, Total is now developing close to 4 GW of renewable power capacity in the U.S., thus contributing to our objective to reach close to 35 GW of renewable generation capacity by 2025,” Pouyanne continued.

As part of its ambition to get to net zero by 2050, Total is building a portfolio of activities in renewables and electricity that could account for up to 40 percent of its sales by 2050, Total notes on its website. At the end of 2020, the company’s gross power generation capacity worldwide was around 12 GW, including close to 7 GW of renewable energy.

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