Sempra, TotalEnergies to partner on California offshore wind project, more renewables, LNG

US energy company Sempra (NYSE:SRE) and France’s TotalEnergies SE (EPA:TTE) are deepening their North American partnership with two memoranda of understanding (MoU), one concerning renewables and another for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, the companies said on Thursday.

The agreements are between TotalEnergies and Sempra’s subsidiary Sempra Infrastructure. Under the renewables deal, Sempra Infrastructure would potentially acquire 30% of TotalEnergies' equity stake in an offshore wind project that is preparing for an upcoming auction off the coast of California, getting 24% of the project.

TotalEnergies recently became a joint venture partner in the 1-GW Castle Wind project off the coast of Morro Bay in California after acquiring the interest from EnBW North America. The French company is now a project partner of Trident Winds Inc.

The renewables MoU also includes TotalEnergies' potential acquisition of a 30% stake in certain Sempra Infrastructure renewable and energy storage projects under development in Northern Mexico.

The other deal is for Sempra Infrastructure's proposed Vista Pacifico mid-scale LNG project on Mexico’s west coast that could export to markets such as Asia, Europe and South America. The MoU calls for TotalEnergies to offtake a third of its expected output and to take a stake of at least 16.6% in the project.

Sempra Infrastructure and TotalEnergies are already partners in a LNG export facility in Louisiana and a liquefaction facility under construction in Mexico.

"With last week's energy accord between the U.S. and European Commission, alliances between some of the leading energy companies like TotalEnergies and Sempra are increasingly important to transatlantic trade and energy security," commented Sempra chairman and chief executive Jeffrey W Martin.

“Over the past years, TotalEnergies has become the leading exporter of US LNG and has built up a pipeline of 4 GW of solar projects and 3 GW of offshore wind projects currently under development in the US,” noted TotalEnergies chairman and chief executive Patrick Pouyanne.

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!