Total sold a half share in a French onshore wind and solar portfolio to finance group Banque des Territoires, in a deal the oil and gas major said creates a base for further renewables growth in its home market.
Banque des Territoires – an arm of French state-backed investment giant Caisse des Depots – bought a 50% stake in 11 wind farms and 35 solar arrays adding up to 143MW between them, worth a total €300m ($330m) and operated by the oil group’s Total Quadran development unit.
Total Quadran – which focuses on green energy projects in France and its overseas territories – will be better placed to pursue further developments with “a locally established player committed to regional development”, it said.
After several years stuck in the regulatory mud, French onshore wind is set for an upswing thanks to government plans to auction 2GW a year in a bid to reach up to 35.6GW of cumulative capacity by 2028, up from 15.1GW in 2018.
Total Quadran has a total renewables base of 875MW, bolstered by its parent group’s acquisition of developer Vents d’Oc last year.
Total’s other interests in renewable energy range from investments in US PV outfit SunPower and Lithium-ion battery maker Saft to international onshore wind projects via its subsidiary Total Eren.
In 2019 it announced a tie-up with Chinese clean energy group Envision to develop distributed solar projects in China and revealed plans to break into the UK offshore wind market.
