French oil giant buys SE Alta. solar farm

By Collin Gallant on April 2, 2025.

-- FILE PHOTO

Medicine Hat News

One of the world’s largest oil companies has purchased a solar farm near Acadia Valley, and has initial agreement to takeover a larger renewable power portfolio in the province.

French multinational TotalEnergies announced Wednesday that it has acquired “Big Sky Solar” located about 15 kilometres south of Oyen, near Highway 41, along with a substantial project list in Germany and projects in Uganda.

The 800-acre facility in southeast Alberta was commissioned in February by developer the RES Group with a top capacity of 140 megawatts.

That U.K.-based developer announced the deal in a release, stating that the two firms had also reach agreement to transfer other wind and solar projects under development in Alberta which total 800 megawatts of capacity.

“These projects will contribute to our targets,” said TotalEnergies’ Stéphane Michel, vice-president of gas, renewables and power at the Paris-based former national oil company of France.

“This also strengthens our operations in markets where we are deploying our Integrated Power business, such as in North America. Furthermore, it will contribute to cash flow growth and to our goal of reaching our 12 per cent profitability target in the electricity segment.”

Formerly known as “Total”, the top-seven international oil producer sold its Alberta oil sands assets in 2023 to Suncor, but is still active petroleum company. It plans to invest 5 billion Euros annually in low-carbon projects.

It will retain one-third of the Alberta TIER industrial carbon levy credits produced by Big Sky while the remainder are already contracted to a third party.

The companies estimate the project will pay C$30 million in local taxes and lease payments over its expected 30-year operational lifespan.

Big Sky received a $25 million grant from the Canadian government’s “Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways” program toward the estimated C$200 million project budget.

Details of other projects part of the deal were not disclosed.

RES is currently in the late stages of developing Oyen Wind, a planned 250-megawatt facility, and Nova Solar, a 900-acre, 150-megawatt proposal in Carseland, south of Strathmore.

RES has recently concluded several other utility-scale projects in the southeast, including Forty Mile Wind Farm, which was sold to Acciona in 2023, and the Hilda Wind Farm.

“This sale (of Big Sky) underscores the growing demand for well-developed solar projects in Canada, and we are pleased to be working closely with TotalEnergies on more projects in the future,” stated Peter Clibbon, the senior vice-president of development at RES.