Total has agreed to buy a 20% stake in Indian PV developer Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL), as the French oil and gas major ramps up efforts to reach its global clean energy targets.
Paris-headquartered Total had previously purchased a 50% stake in a joint venture with AGEL that recently increased its operating solar portfolio to 2,353MW. That deal, combined with the latest acquisition, has seen Total invest a total of US$2.5 billion in AGEL and secure a seat on the firm’s board of directors.
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AGEL has more than 14.6GW of contracted renewables capacity and looks to reach 25GW of clean energy generation by 2025. The company’s largest PV plant is in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and has a capacity of 648MW.
Total CEO Patrick Pouyanné said the latest acquisition “is a major milestone” in the company’s renewable energy strategy in India. “Given the size of the market, India is the right place to put into action our energy transition strategy based on two pillars: renewables and natural gas.”
As it aims to become net zero by 2050, Total’s renewables strategy has seen it announce plans to cover all the electricity consumption of its European industrial sites from solar power by 2025 as well as join forces with Marubeni Corporation to develop an 800MW PV project in Qatar.
The company said the partnership with AGEL in India’s renewables space “will be a key contributor” to Total’s objective of reaching 35GWp of gross production capacity from clean energy sources by 2025 and adding 10GWp per year afterwards.
Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani said the firm is “delighted” to deepen its strategic alliance with Total. “We have a shared vision of developing renewable power at affordable prices to enable a sustainable energy transformation in India. We look forward to working together towards delivering India’s vision for 450GW renewable energy by 2030.”
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently said the country’s green energy capacity will exceed an initial target of 175GW by 2022, and instead reach 220GW by then, as he revealed plans to drive domestic manufacturing through production-linked incentives provided by the government for high-efficiency solar modules.
