TotalEnergies acquires West Burton B gas-fired power plant

10 June 2024

TotalEnergies has signed an agreement with energy investor EIG for the acquisition of West Burton Energy for £450 million. West Burton Energy owns and operates the West Burton B gas-fired power plant in Nottinghamshire, England which comprises three combined-cycle gas turbines (CCGT) with a total output of 1.3 GW.

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Commissioned in 2013, West Burton B is one of the UK’s most advanced power plants and supplies some 1.8 million homes. A 49 MW battery storage system was added in 2018.

This acquisition rounds out TotalEnergies’ renewable power generation capacity in the UK with a flexible asset that mitigates intermittency to enable the supply of firm power to customers, the energy major said. Given the size of the Company’s renewable portfolio in the country, which currently stands at 1.1 GW of gross installed capacity and 4.5 GW under development, TotalEnergies assesses its need for gas-based power generation capacity at 700 MW; the Company therefore plans to divest 50% of the acquired assets.

TotalEnergies added that the deal will also allow it to strengthen its trading capabilities in the country’s electricity and gas markets, as well as its ability to provide increasingly affordable, available and sustainable energy to its 300,000 UK electricity and gas customer sites. Finally, the company will supply the plant by leveraging its positions in natural gas production in the country, where it operates 30% of the projects.

“I am delighted to welcome the West Burton B team to TotalEnergies. This acquisition contributes to our integrated strategy in the UK, which combines renewable and flexible generation capacity. It complements our 1.1 GW Seagreen offshore wind farm and allows us to accelerate development of our Integrated Power activities in power generation, trading and marketing in this market,” said Stéphane Michel, President, Gas, Renewables and Power at TotalEnergies. “The deal also contributes directly to our 2028 ROACE target of around 12% in this business sector.”