Total becomes major player in US solar energy market

Total strengthens its presence in the US market by acquiring a development pipeline of 2.2 GW of solar projects and 600 MW of battery storage assets, all located in Texas, Report informs citing World Oil.

The French energy giant bought the projects from SunChase Power, a renewable energy company focused on developing utility-scale energy projects, and MAP RE/ES, a private energy investment firm.

The announcement came after recent news of a joint venture with 174 Power Global to develop 1.6 GW in the United States.

The pipeline consists of four large-scale solar projects, each with co-located battery energy storage systems (BESS), in industrial areas close to Houston with high electricity demand.

Construction of the first two projects is expected to start later this year. All projects will come online between 2023 and 2024. The remuneration paid by Total to Sunchase and MAP RE/ES will be in staged payment as the projects advance.

Total will commit to a 1 GW corporate PPA sourced from this solar power and energy storage portfolio to cover all the electricity consumption of its operated industrial sites in the US. Port Arthur refining and petrochemicals platform and La Porte and Carville petrochemical sites are among them.

“I am very pleased that Total is further contributing to the development of solar power in the US. We look forward to taking advantage of the many growth opportunities in the US market to address the challenges of the energy transition,” said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO of Total.

In January, Total acquired a 20 percent stake in Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) of the Adani Group.

Adani Green Energy Limited is an Indian renewable energy company headquartered in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The company operates Kamuthi Solar Power, one of the largest solar photovoltaic plants in the world.