$500M Pledge From Total For PV And Other Renewables
Total, Europe’s third largest oil and gas company, has just announced a huge boost in future for the clean energy sector. The 2015 annual report indicates a growing share of PV production in the company’s income.
In the 2015 report, Total had a net income in marketing and services segment (which includes activities in the new energy sector), of $1.7 billion. The company attributed this 35% increase over 2014 to its SunPower affiliate finalizing the 135MW Quinto solar farm.
Total holds a 66% stake of California-based SunPower. The subsidiary reported strong fourth-quarter results, plans a company-wide expansion, and announced last week that it would provide new direct service for homeowners in New York.
Says Adilya Zaripova, writing for PV Magazine:
“Indicating Total’s further support for the solar industry, the company’s non-current provisions include $166 million guarantees granted to solar panels of SunPower as of December 31, 2015. According to the report, Total will continue to invest in R&D in order to improve SunPower’s methods of cell and module production and drive down costs.”
In the report, Total also reveals its strategic partnerships with several academic and research institutes—in particular, the Ile de France Photovoltaic Institute in the Paris-Saclay campus, one of the world’s upcoming centers for research, innovation, and training in the field of photovoltaic solar energy. Other R&D projects the company supports will develop low-cost stationary storage technologies and software tools to manage domestic power production.
The Awango pledge from Total program, which provides affordable access to energy for communities in developing economies, achieved its goal of selling a million solar lamps by the end of 2015 months ahead of time. By May of last year one million lamps had been sold in Africa alone. The program also expanded to 10 new counties in Africa and the Middle East in 2015.
Biotechnology and bio-sourced products for transportation and chemicals are other Total interests. The company also owns a 10MW wind farm in France and part of a marine energy production company.
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