TotalEnergies, Masdar to merge green assets in nine nations

TotalEnergies SE and Abu Dhabi’s Masdar agreed to pool their onshore renewable energy assets in nine Asian countries, betting on growing demand for clean power just as the Iran war boosts oil and gas costs. The French oil giant and the Emirati renewable firm will share development and operating costs for solar, wind and battery projects in countries from Kazakhstan to Indonesia and Japan. The joint venture — with an enterprise value of $2.2 billion — will have 3 gigawatts of operating assets and another 6 gigawatts that are expected to be operational by 2030, the companies said in a joint statement Thursday.

“As electricity demand accelerates across Asia, this partnership brings together capital and expertise to deliver renewable energy at the scale and speed required,” Total and Masdar said in the statement. The joint venture will employ about 200 people from the two firms and be headquartered in Abu Dhabi. It allows Masdar to share development costs as it expand its portfolio to meet a target of having stakes in 100 gigawatts of gross capacity by the end of the decade.

United Arab Emirates firms have made Central Asia a key area for investment. Once the deal has closed, the venture will be the sole vehicle for both companies to develop, build, own and operate onshore solar, wind and battery storage projects in Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea and Uzbekistan. Cooperation with Masdar in some Asian nations dovetails with TotalEnergies’ plan to focus the growth of its power business in key deregulated markets such as Europe, the US and Brazil, as well as in countries where it produces oil and gas. It also wants to expand in select renewable markets such as India and South Africa, while selling non-core solar and wind assets elsewhere.