What an exciting Ryder Cup finish! Congratulations to Team Europe for winning 15:13 on foreign soil for the first time since 2012. I am also super impressed by the incredible come-from-behind effort by Team USA. They were 5:12 down before Sunday’s singles and almost pulled off a miracle.
Now, let’s dig into a couple of energy newsbytes from the past week.
Shangyou Nie
Editor, Well Read
TotalEnergies to Invest $5.3 Billion in the Largest French Offshore Wind Project
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TotalEnergies won a $5.3-billion tender from the French government for an offshore wind farm. But its partner, Germany-based RWE, decided to withdraw from the project. Total will need to find another partner.
About the tender:
According to TotalEnergies, the French major and RWE won the state tender for the “Centre Manche 2” offshore wind farm on 24 September.
RWE said it intends to leave the project, pending approval from the French government.
TotalEnergies will be responsible for “designing, developing, building, and operating” the wind farm.
TotalEnergies said that it would assume the full commitment of the consortium, while seeking permission from the French government to invite a new partner.
According to Bloomberg, with this award, TotalEnergies broke through the dominance of state-owned Électricité de France SA, which has won six of the past 11 offshore wind tenders since 2012.
About the project:
The Centre Manche 2 project (aka AO8) is located 40 kilometers in offshore Normandy.
This wind farm will be the largest renewable energy project in France.
TotalEnergies aims to make final investment decision by early 2029.
This is TotalEnergies’ biggest investment in its host country in the past 30 years, according to the WSJ.
TotalEnergies said that the project…
Shows its commitment to job creation in France
Will implement the “European preference policy” for major equipment, including wind turbines and electricity cables
Will work with local industries, including fishing, to prepare the wind farm project
By the numbers:
The total cost is estimated to be $4.5 billion Euros (or $5.3 billion).
The wind farm will have a capacity of 1.5 gigawatts and can provide power for one million homes.
The electricity will be sold at 66 Euros ($77.5)/megawatts per hour, as set by the state.
France has an ambitious goal of having 18 gigawatts of power from wind farms by 2035. It currently has 3 gigawatts in operation or in construction.
What they’re saying: “[The tender] embodies Total’s transformation into TotalEnergies in France. We will work to support the local industrial ecosystem, which has already developed skills through the first offshore wind projects currently being installed,” added Patrick Pouyanné, CEO of TotalEnergies.
🚨Trend alert:
This large investment in an offshore wind farm goes against the recent trend of European majors pulling back from renewable energies, including offshore wind in the United States.
From my observation, TotalEnergies has tried to have a paced approach in recent years between oil and gas and renewables.
It has continued its investment in oil and gas, including in the United States, Suriname, Namibia, Mozambique, and Southeast Asia.
TotalEnergies also decided to stay in its Russian LNG projects as most western companies exited the country after Russia invaded Ukraine.
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KKR to Purchase 45 Percent of Sempra Infrastructures for $10 Billion
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Leading investment firm KKR will pay $10 billion to acquire an additional 45 percent equity in Sempra Infrastructure Partners, making it the majority owner. Sempra also announced that it has taken final investment decision on Port Arthur LNG Phase 2.
About the deal:
According to Sempra, KKR is conducting the deal alongside Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments).
With this acquisition, KKR will own 65 percent of Sempra Infrastructure Partners.
Sempra will retain 25 percent, and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority will retain 10 percent.
The deal is expected to close in Q2–Q3 2026.
Sempra will receive 47 percent of the cash at closing; 41 percent by the end of 2027, and 12 percent seven years from closing.
According to Sempra, this transaction will:
Sharpen its focus on building a utility growth business
Strengthen its balance sheet
Reduce business risk by lowering exposure to non-utility investments
About the buyer:
KKR was founded by Henry Kravis, George Roberts, and their mentor, Jerome Kohlberg in 1976.
In 2010, KKR became a publicly traded company on the NYSE.
As of the end of September, KKR had a market cap of $125 billion.
Sempra is a leading energy/utility company, headquartered in San Diego, CA.
Sempra has a market cap of $58 billion, larger than the biggest American LNG producer Cheniere ($52 billion)
Sempra:
Sempra holds 50.1 percent majority in Port Arthur Phase 2 LNG, with Blackstone, KKR, Apollo Global Management, and Goldman Sachs.
On 23 September, Sempra took final investment decision on the $12-billion Port Arthur Phase 2 LNG project in Texas, with 14 million tonnes per annum of capacity.
It is one of the largest LNG producers in the United States, operating Cameron LNG (in production, 12 million tonnes per annum) in Hackberry, Louisiana and Port Arthur LNG Phase 1 (in construction, 12 million tonnes per annum) in Jefferson County, Texas.
Port Arthur LNG Phase 1 Trains 1 and 2 are scheduled to come on stream in 2027 and 2028, respectively.
Phase 2 Trains 3 and 4 will come on stream in 2030 and 2031, respectively.
What are they saying: “The transactions announced today further Sempra’s corporate strategy by advancing the company’s capital recycling program and transition to a leading U.S. utility growth business,” said Jeffrey Martin, chairman and CEO of Sempra.
What to watch: It is intriguing that Sempra has decided to reduce its ownership in Sempra Infrastructure Partners to only 25 percent, despite the fast-growing U.S. LNG sector.
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