Total Renewables-ADANI expand partnership
Paris-headquartered Total is set to proceed with a US$500 million investment in a joint venture with Adani Green Energy Ltd (AGEL), supporting India’s energy transition, which has received approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) on 11 Jan 2021.
Total SE, the ultimate parent entity of the Total Group, is to formally acquire share capital of AGEL under Section 31(1) of the Competition Act, 2002.
The venture with AGEL has a value of approximately US$500 million and is in line with the Group’s objective of double-digit returns on renewable projects. It remains subject to the approval of the relevant authorities.
“Total is fully engaged in the energy transition and to supporting India, a key country in the fight against climate change, in diversifying its energy mix through partnerships in natural gas and now in solar energy,” Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman & CEO of Total had said in announcing plans for India in Feb 2020.
“This interest in over 2-GW of solar projects represents another big step of our investment in India’s energy sector. It will support our ambition to contribute to the deployment of 25 GW of renewable capacities by 2025. We are thrilled to extend the partnership with the Adani Group to renewable energies, which will allow us to benefit from its in-depth knowledge of the Indian electricity market,” he said.
The acquisition will be through subsidiary Total Renewables SAS. BSE-NSE-listed AGEL is the renewable energy arm of the Adani Group and an established developer of solar parks.
As part of its strategy to develop renewable energies, Total announced in Feb 2020 expansion of partnership with Adani Group in order to contribute to the growth of solar power generation in the country.
Indeed, the Indian government has a strong policy to support the renewable energy growth with installed capacity expected to be 225 gigawatts (GW) this year from 81 GW in 2019.
Total and AGEL will create a 50:50 joint venture into which AGEL will transfer its solar assets in operation. These projects are spread over 11 Indian states and have a cumulative capacity of over 2 GW. All the projects benefit from nearly 25-year power purchase agreements (PPA) with national and regional electricity distributors, with a fixed rate.
Total integrates climate change into its strategy and is staying ahead of new energy market trends by building a portfolio of low-carbon businesses that could account for 15 to 20% of its sales by 2040. Total’s gross low-carbon power generation capacity worldwide is currently close to 7 gigawatts, of which over 3 gigawatts from renewable energies. #OPEC #solar #renewables #tenders #project #investment /fiinews.com
