French petroleum major TotalEnergies has entered into an agreement with fellow fossil fuel company Petronas to collaborate on the development of a 100MW solar farm in Queensland, Australia.
As part of a “strategic collaboration agreement” between TotalEnergies and Petronas' clean energy subsidiary, Gentari Renewables, the Pleasant Hills solar photovoltaic (PV) project will be jointly developed to provide solar power to the Gladstone LNG production and processing facility in the Roma area of Queensland. Both TotalEnergies and Petronas hold a 27.5% stake in the Gladstone facility.
The broader agreement sets the stage for further development in the Asia-Pacific region, hinting at potential future collaborative ventures. The two companies already cooperate on upstream operations in eight markets worldwide.
Julien Pouget, senior vice president Asia Pacific for exploration & production and renewables at TotalEnergies, stated, “Through this Strategic Collaboration Agreement, we are paving the way for very concrete action plans ranging from implementing best practices to eliminate methane emissions, to energy efficiency and electrification with low carbon power.” Pouget added, “The 100MW Pleasant Hills Solar Project, which will contribute to lowering the emissions of Gladstone LNG, is a first material implementation of this agreement.”
Earlier this month, TotalEnergies announced its decision to divest the majority of its climate venture capital assets, selling them to French firm Aster.
Last April, the company established a joint venture with Japanese oil company Eneos to develop 2GW of distributed solar projects across Asia, with a specific focus on Japan, India, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The collaboration between TotalEnergies and Petronas underscores the growing commitment of fossil fuel companies to diversify their energy portfolios and embrace renewable sources. By investing in solar energy projects, these industry leaders take a significant step towards reducing carbon emissions and contributing to a more sustainable future.
