TotalEnergies has agreed to acquire a 50% stake in US-based renewable energy company Clearway Energy Group (CEG) from Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).
CEG is engaged in developing renewable energy projects, and controls and owns 42% of economic interest of its listed subsidiary, Clearway Energy (CWEN).
The company owns 7.7GW of operational wind and solar assets through CWEN. The transaction valued CWEN at $35.1 per share and SunPower at $18 per share.
Also, it has 25GW pipeline of renewable and storage projects, of which 15GW are in an advanced stage of development.
Under the terms of the agreement, GIP is eligible to receive $1.6bn in cash, and a stake of 50% minus one share in the TotalEnergies subsidiary that own its 50.6% stake in SunPower.
SunPower is a large-scale residential solar company in the US, providing fully integrated solar, storage, and home energy solutions.
TotalEnergies chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné said: “We are delighted with this partnership with Global Infrastructure Partners, which is a major player in renewables, particularly in the United States.
“It allows TotalEnergies to scale up in the U.S. market, one of the most dynamic in the world, benefiting from operating assets and a 25 GW high quality pipeline, in wind, solar and storage, with a wide geographic coverage with a presence in 34 states.
“This transaction perfectly fits with our strategy to make renewable electricity one of our main growth drivers along with liquefied natural gas that we have recently reinforced with the launch of Cameron extension.”
The transaction is said to be the largest acquisition in the US renewable energy sector, and one of the biggest across the renewable markets worldwide.
With the acquisition, TotalEnergies’ US renewable portfolio is expected to increase to reach more than 25GW and contributes to achieving its global target of reaching 100GW.
The company is already developing 8GW of solar projects in the country and is expected to develop 4GW of offshore wind projects.
Global Infrastructure Partners chairman and CEO Adebayo Ogunlesi said: “We are confident that with TotalEnergies as a partner, Clearway will be able to accelerate the deployment of cost competitive renewable power in the U.S.
“At the same time, GIP’s investment in SunPower is our initial commitment in the distributed generation space, which we believe will provide critical solutions to facilitate the nation’s clean energy future.
“The scale, capabilities and ambition that both GIP and TotalEnergies bring to this partnership will support our shared vision to build industry-leading utility scale and distributed renewables platforms in the U.S.”
