India, a key country for TotalEnergies in solar development

India is“One of the most fascinating countries” In the eyes of Patrick Poignant, as the head of TotalEnergies wrote on Twitter, in 2020. One of the most important, above all, in the strategy of the French energy giant. The oil and gas major aims to be among the top five producers of renewable electricity by 2030, thanks mainly to wind or solar power. A way to partially change its image, even if it assumes that its sales will still depend for the most part on fossil fuels – gas and oil products – thus the energies responsible for global warming.

The problem: Recent allegations since late January have weakened Adani, TotalEnergies’ main Indian partner in gas, but also in renewables. The American hedge fund, Hindenburg Research, suspects the conglomerate led by Gautam Adani of accounting fraud.

However, regardless of the context, TotalEnergies intends to immediately maintain its stake in Adan Green (20% from 2021), a subsidiary specializing in renewable energy. “Renewable projects in Adan Green’s production and development in India are very specific: they produce energy and generate revenue.”declares the world TotalEnergies. The company does not see “There is no reason we want to stop assets in production or construction sites in progress”. “Our investment in India is industrial, not financial”she adds.

In terms of renewable electricity, TotalEnergies’ presence in India is more than four-fifths with its participation in Adan. The rest is represented by a joint venture between Total Eren and EDF Renewables.

India alone is home to nearly a third of the TotalEnergies group’s total installed renewable energy capacity. That is, those that are already operational for production, based on the number suspended in 2022. This is particularly due to solar panels, which are far ahead of onshore wind power, with 4.9 gigawatts (GW) and 0.4 GW respectively. This is more than North America (5.1 GW) or France (1.5 GW). For the firm, India also represents a minor share (16%) of green power projects under construction, with 1 GW under construction.

More “careful” of hydrogen

On less advanced files, TotalEnergies lags. The group has identified 4.5 GW of total capacity in India under development, i.e. identified projects whose construction has not yet started. “It’s too early to tell if Adan Greene’s growth rate will need to be adjusted”The company under the leadership of Patrick Pouyane responds to these projects.