QatarEnergy, a Qatar-based petroleum company, has signed an agreement with TotalEnergies to acquire a 50% stake in a 1.25 GW solar project under development in Iraq, pending regulatory approvals. TotalEnergies, a French oil and gas company, will retain the remaining 50% stake.
The solar project, which is part of the Gas Growth Integrated Project (GGIP), will incorporate about 2 million high-efficiency bifacial solar panels mounted on single-axis trackers.
The project will be developed in phases and is expected to reach commercial operation between 2025 and 2027. Once operational, the project will produce clean electricity that is enough to power approximately 350,000 households in the Basra region.
Commenting on this occasion, His Excellency Mr. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, said: “I am pleased to have concluded our entry into this very important project for Iraq’s energy sector, and look forward to working with our strategic partner, TotalEnergies, to progress it to fruition. We thank the Iraqi government for their trust and TotalEnergies for this opportunity to support Iraq’s solar power development.”
QatarEnergy joined the consortium to implement the GGIP in June 2023 with a 25% stake, while TotalEnergies and Iraq’s Basra Oil Company held the remaining 45% and 30% stakes, respectively.
According to Mercom’s 9M and Q3 2024 Solar Funding and M&A report, 166 project acquisitions totaling 28.3 GW were transacted in 9M 2024 compared to the same number of project acquisitions totaling 31.6 GW in 9M 2023.
This month, Qcells, a utility-scale solar and energy storage project developer and solar EPC provider, announced the sale of Ursa Solar Project (formerly known as Langdon Mills Solar), which has a total capacity of 200 MW, to We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service Corporation (WPS), and Madison Gas and Electric Company (MGE). The project is located in Colombia County, Wisconsin.