$1.6 Billion! Total Energies Acquires 50% Stake in Clearway
May 26, 2022
French multi-energy group TotalEnergies SE has agreed to acquire a 50% stake in US renewable energy developer Clearway Energy Group (CEG), giving it a 7.7 GW portfolio of operating wind and solar parks in the US.
The French company said on Wednesday it would pay $1.6 billion (1.5 billion euros) in cash to buy interest from Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). In the framework of the deal, GIP will also receive a 50% interest minus one share in the TotalEnergies unit, which owns 50.6% of US residential solar installer SunPower Corp.
San Francisco-based Clearway Energy Group focuses on the development of renewable energy projects, which are handed over to its subsidiary Clearway Energy Inc after commissioning. CEG has a 42% economic interest in CWEN, which owns 7.7 GW of wind and solar assets. The developer has a 25-GW pipeline of renewable energy and battery storage projects, 15 GW of which is in advanced development.
The acquisition is motivated by TotalEnergies' plans to further develop the renewable energy market, expanding its footprint in the U.S. power industry, while increasing its U.S. renewable energy portfolio to over 25 GW. The French company aims to have a combined renewable energy and storage capacity of 35 GW by 2025 and 100 GW by 2030.
Patrick Pouyanne, Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies, said: "This transaction is perfectly in line with our strategy of using renewable electricity as one of our key growth drivers."
