Oil supermajor Total has linked with Chinese clean energy group Envision to develop distributed solar projects in China.

Total and Envision have formed TEESS, a 50/50 joint venture to develop on-site PV projects for business-to-business customers, said a statement from the two.

Envision – best known as one of China’s leading wind OEMs – is also a major player in software and operating systems for the wider clean energy sector, while Total is already active in solar via its ownership of SunPower in the US.

Alex Sun, CEO of the new venture, claimed the commercial and industrial sector accounts for about two-thirds of Chinese power consumption.

"We aim to combine our respective strengths in digitalised and distributed solar energy sector, to become the number-one choice of Industrial & Commercial companies in China to support and enable their renewable power transition," he said.

Total is also active in onshore wind through its Total Eren development subsidiary, and has ambitions in offshore wind in the UK and France.