Renewable Energy M&A: TotalEnergies expands renewables presence in Poland, acquires biogas and solar assets

The transaction augments TotalEnergies’ existing onshore wind assets in the country

TotalEnergies has taken over Polska Grupa Biogazowa (PGB), which operates 17 biogas plants, producing 166 GWh/year of renewable heat and power. The company also has one under-construction facility, as well as a development pipeline of 23 projects. In a separate transaction, TotalEnergies has acquired six early-stage solar projects in northern and western Poland from local developer FFKM112. The 200 MW portfolio is expected to come online by 2025. 

TotalEnergies established its footprint in Poland in 1992 through retail and elastomer processing businesses. In 2011, the company expanded operations to include renewable energy assets with the development of the 20 MW Enwind project and has since operated in the wind sector through its subsidiary Total Eren. In Apr'22, the company also partnered with KGHM to participate in a government tender for the development of offshore wind projects in the Polish Baltic Sea.

The acquisition of PGB takes TotalEnergies’ global biogas production capacity to 1.1 TWh and supports the company’s ambition to produce at least 20 TWh per year by 2030. Meanwhile, the acquisition of solar assets increases TotalEnergies’ gross renewable electricity generation capacity to over 17 GW. The company will continue to build out its portfolio with the aim to reach 35 GW of gross production capacity from renewable sources and storage by 2025 and rise to 100 GW by 2030.

Enerdatics observes that during the last 2 years, Poland has come to the forefront as one of the most attractive emerging markets for renewable energy investments in Europe. The country’s efforts to transition away from its coal-based power mix, aided by €3.85bn in EU grants, is spurring a rise in project development and M&A activity for renewables assets. As per Enerdatics data, the country witnessed nearly $1bn of transactions for onshore renewable energy projects in 2022, with companies including ENGIE, Greenvolt, Ingka Group and PGE acquiring utility-scale solar and wind assets. With the recent deals, TotalEnergies joins fellow oil and gas (O&G) majors Equinor and Eni in establishing its footprint in the country’s renewables landscape. Equinor’s portfolio includes a 50% stake in 2.7 GW of under-development offshore wind farms in the Polish Baltic Sea, along with solar PV developer Wento and its 1.6 GW pipeline. Meanwhile, Eni has partnered with private equity firm Copenhagen Investment Partners (CIP) to participate in contract-for-difference (CfD) auctions for offshore wind areas, expected to take place in 2025 and 2027. As additional coal plants in the country are retired, Enerdatics expects to continue seeing high levels of activity in Poland’s renewables space, led primarily by large independent power producers and industrial conglomerates. 

The above analysis is proprietary to Enerdatics’ energy analytics team, based on the current understanding of the available data. The information is subject to change and should not be taken to constitute professional advice or a recommendation.

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