A French oil major and Czech energy group have teamed up to create one of Europe’s largest gas power producers.
They say the deal is a response to Europe’s need for ‘flexible’ power generation – backup power that can be switched on when wind or solar output dips. But critics warn it could instead lock the continent into another decade of fossil fuel dependence.
The partnership, finalised on 29 April, gives TotalEnergies a 50 per cent stake in EPH’s flexible power generation portfolio across France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK. It includes 14 gigawatts of operational and under-construction power assets, 12.5 GW of which will be fossil gas-fired – equivalent to the entire gas power capacity of Belgium, Denmark, Portugal and Sweden combined.
In exchange, EPH received shares in TotalEnergies worth around €5.1 billion, making it one of the French company’s largest shareholders.
A new report by campaign group Beyond Fossil Fuels (BFF) warns that the venture could “deepen Europe’s dependence on costly imported fossil gas, increase energy bills and slow down Europe’s clean energy transition”.
