TotalEnergies sets sights on renewables in Saudi Arabia - report

French multi-energy group TotalEnergies SE (EPA:TTE) is in talks with Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power Co (TADAWUL:2082) to enhance its participation in renewable energy projects in the Kingdom, CEO Patrick Pouyanne told Al-Sharq TV.

Solar energy is gaining momentum in Saudi Arabia as ACWA Power secured earlier this year funding for the construction of three large-scale projects with a combined capacity of 4.55 GW and TotalEnergies was declared one of the companies qualified to compete for four solar projects with a combined capacity of 3.7 GW offered in the country's fifth round of renewable energy tenders.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha, Pouyanne explained that the group's strategy in the Middle East envisages investing in natural gas and renewable energy projects, as it is currently doing in Oman and Iraq.

In southern Iraq, the group is building a 1-GW solar park. Pouyanne confirmed in the interview that the implementation of the project is progressing well and the solar plant is set to go online in 2025. Construction works began in the summer of 2023.

The project is part of four contracts that TotalEnergies signed with the Iraqi Ministry of Oil for gas, oil, renewable energy and seawater desalination facilities in Basra governorate.

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