TotalEnergies is a multi-energy company that produces and markets fuels, natural gas and electricity. The company is committed to better energy that is more affordable, more reliable, cleaner and accessible to as many people as possible. In Bulgaria, TotalEnergies is active through its retail activities. It is also actively looking at natural gas exploration opportunities in the country and also aims to establish itself as a key player in the local renewable energy market. Severine Lalande is Head of Eastern Europe Renewable Business Development. Miroslav Ilijevski is the company’s General Manager and Country Chair in Bulgaria.
Mrs. Lalande, what are the recent achievements and future goals of TotalEnergies Renewables in Europe, in terms of their strategy and ambition?
Severine Lalande: TotalEnergies’ global ambition is to lead the energy transition to carbon neutrality in the power industry by 2050. Solar and wind power are essential components of our future growth in renewables. TotalEnergies is a major player in solar and onshore wind as well as a world leader in offshore wind with a presence in 60 countries. The company aims to grow its power generation to more than 100 TWh by 2030 to become one of the world’s top five producers of renewable energy.
Europe is a core region for TotalEnergies - the company is building a cost-competitive portfolio combining renewable and flexible assets to deliver clean energy to its customers.
Currently, TotalEnergies has 3.6 GW of renewable capacity installed in Europe, aiming for the continent to become its largest region for renewable power generation by 2030. The company operates solar photovoltaic and onshore wind installations in Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy, UK, Bulgaria and Poland, and has projects in development in many other countries, including the recently announced acquisitions in Poland and Romania, of 200 MW each, and a wind tender of 75 MW awarded in Albania. There are also significant developments in the area of offshore wind – we recently commissioned our largest
offshore wind farm in Scotland Seagreen and won a 3-GW bid in Germany.
When it comes to the renewables sector, TotalEnergies is active in many areas of project management and development. Can you describe your approach and how to do you form you partnerships?
TotalEnergies works with national and local governments, project developers, banks and investors. We have a long history of building consensus on the design and management of projects that benefit policymakers, communities, and society at large. The company operates an integrated design-to-delivery approach to renewable projects, from core research and development to project analysis and technical deployment right up to the initiation of construction. Our renewable project teams are managing the entire process from origination through development and construction, to financing, asset management and power off-take optimisation. TotalEnergies believes in long-term partnerships that will allow for all energy optimisation opportunities to be explored, including hybrid solutions, battery storage and energy efficiency innovations.
Mr. Ilijevski, what are the latest developments and news concerning TotalEnergies’ renewable energy initiatives and projects in Bulgaria?
Miroslav Ilijevski: First of all, thank you for another opportunity to share details about TotalEnergies and our activities in the country. As mentioned previously, Bulgaria has been and will remain important market for the development of the renewable business of the company in Europe. In July 2023, TotalEnergies announced the complete acquisition of Total Eren, following a successful strategic alliance of five years. The Total Eren teams are already fully integrated within TotalEnergies Renewables’ business unit. This acquisition is expected to make a positive impact on company’s business and strategy in Bulgaria too, since Novenergia, a company fully owned by Total Eren, has been present on the market since 2007. Thanks to this development, TotalEnergies Renewables is now officially present in Bulgaria and actively owns and operates two PV plants in the country, one located in Dabovo and the other in Vinogradets. The two facilities have a total production capacity of 14.4 MW.
As for our ambition in the country, it remains unchanged and is in line with the global company’s ambition. We will be aiming to build an attractive, cost-competitive portfolio of renewable and flexible assets, with the ambition to deliver clean energy to our current and future customers, thus contributing to the energy transition of all parties - TotalEnergies, our customers and Bulgaria.