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Uganda, TotalEnergies sign renewable energy deal

Tuesday February 01 2022
TotalEnergies General Manager Philippe Groueix and Uganda's Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa.

TotalEnergies General Manager Philippe Groueix and Uganda's Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa signs renewable energy agreements during a ceremony presided over by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Tanzanian Vice President Phillip Mpango in Kampala on February 01, 2022. PHOTO | COURTESY | PRESIDENTIAL PRESS

By JULIUS BARIGABA

Uganda and TotalEnergies on Tuesday signed a deal that will see the French company explore opportunities and develop renewable energy projects in response to the global push for clean energy.

The deal was inked in Kampala, as part of the long awaited Final Investment Decision (FID) for the Uganda-Tanzania crude oil pipeline, Kingfisher and Tilenga oil projects in the Lake Albert region.

Uganda’s Energy Minister Ruth Nankabirwa signed on behalf of Uganda government, while TotalEnergies General Manager/Country Chairman Philippe Groueix signed on behalf of the French firm.

Read: Total, Rwanda partner in renewable energy project

The memorandum of understanding will see the company produce Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and also deploy large-scale renewable energy technologies to identify areas of commercial investment.

The MoU says the company will also explore wind and geothermal projects to produce energy for the national grid.

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According to the MoU, TotalEnergies will develop and deliver the identified projects by 2030. This will increase the share of Uganda’s renewable energy, and raise the uptake of LPG to end mass reliance on biomass, Ms Nankabirwa said.

“We all know the energy transition is putting a lot of pressure on fossil fuels…this project comes with a substitute for firewood,” she said.

The deal with Uganda, comes just two days after the French giant signed a renewable energy MoU with Rwanda, indicating the company’s push to deploy its multi-energy strategy in Africa, where it has been previously criticised for neglecting clean energy projects, TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne said.

In 2020, three of the five oil super majors – Shell, BP and TotalEnergies – all signalled moves to pivot away from fossil fuels by cutting investments in new oil projects and instead putting more money into renewables in a global energy transition that aims to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

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