As per the agreement with the renewable energy firm Eren, Total has the option to buy the remainder stake of 67% after a 5-year period.

The acquisition of Eren stake by Total complements the latter’s renewable energy portfolio. Upon closing of the transaction, Eren RE will be renamed as Total Eren to facilitate the entry of Total into the wind power generation sector.

On the other hand, the development of the solar farm business of Eren RE will primarily focus on emerging nations where there is a surge in demand for electricity.

Total chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné said: “Total integrates climate challenge into its strategy and is pursuing steady growth in low-carbon businesses, in particular in renewable energy.

“By partnering with EREN RE, we are leveraging a team that has a proven track record in renewable power production, and we are investing in an additional asset to accelerate our profitable growth in this segment, in line with our ambition to become the responsible energy major.”

Established in 2012, Eren RE has developed a mixed asset base comprising mainly wind, solar and hydro generating facilities. Overall, the company has an installed gross capacity of 650MW in operation or under construction across the world.

Total intends to meet Eren RE’s financing requirements to speed up its development in the near future to help the latter achieve a global installed capacity of over 3GW inside the next five years.

Eren Re chairman Pâris Mouratoglou said: “This strategic agreement allows us to join forces with a major energy player, with whom we share a strong desire for development in the renewable energy sector and an ambitious long-term vision.

“Our positioning is global and the Total Group's strength in international markets represents a tremendous accelerator ".

The closing of the acquisition by Total will be subject to the approval of the relevant competition authorities.

Total’s investment in Eren RE follows the June’s fund raising of €200m by the renewable energy start-up from a consortium of investors led by Bpifrance.

Image: Eren Re’s 120MWp NSM solar project in India. Photo: courtesy of EREN.