MOSCOW (MRC) -- French oil major Total, which is making a major push to develop its renewable energy portfolio, said on Friday it had bought 2.2 gigawatts (GW) of solar projects in Texas, adding to a rush of acquisitions elsewhere this year. It said it would cover all power consumption at its US production sites, including its refining and petrochemical platforms, from its solar power and energy storage assets, reported Reuters.
Europe's top energy companies have outlined plans to curb emissions and boost renewable energy output as they come under pressure from investors. Total is looking to wean itself off a reliance on oil and plans to market more electricity to clients.
It aims to add some 10 GW in renewable energy production capacity a year and to reach 35 GW by 2025.
Its latest deal in the US also involves 600 megawatts (MW) of battery storage assets. Total said it was buying the portfolio from SunChase Power and private energy investment firm MAP RE/ES, but did not give financial details.
The group is now developing close to 4 GW of renewable energy capacity in the United States, it said, adding that construction of the first two Texan solar projects was expected to start later this year.
Total, which reports 2020 earnings next week, said in January it would pay USD2.5 billion for a share in India's Adani Green Energy Limited (AGEL) and its solar power assets, its biggest investment yet in renewables.
As MRC wrote earlier, within the framework of its net zero strategy, Total will convert its Grandpuits refinery (Seine-et-Marne) into a zero-crude platform and will invest more then EUR500 mln into this project. By 2024 the platform will focus on four new industrial activities: production of renewable diesel primarily intended for the aviation industry, production of bioplastics, plastics recycling and operation of two photovoltaic solar power plants.
We remind that in November 2019, Total disclosed that itis evaluating construction of a new gas cracker at its Deasan, South Korea, joint venture (JV) with Hanwha Chemical.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 2,220,640 tonnes in 2020, up by 2% year on year. Only shipments of low density polyethylene (LDPE) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) increased. At the same time, polypropylene (PP) shipments to the Russian market reached 1 240,000 tonnes in 2020 (calculated using the formula: production, minus exports, plus imports, excluding producers' inventories as of 1 January, 2020).
Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world with business in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and Asia. The company's petrochemical products cover two main groups: base chemicals and the consumer polymers (polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene) that are derived from them.
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