Total inaugurates thousandth ‘solarized’ service station in Marrakech, Morocco
Total inaugurated its thousandth solarized service station powered by solar panels yesterday, located at the TOTAL Palmeraie retail outlet in Marrakech, Morocco.
Total’s goal is to install solar panels at 5,000 stations in 57 countries. Work will accelerate in the coming months to reach around 1,000 stations per year. More than a third of TOTAL retail network stations worldwide will be equipped with high-efficiency SunPower solar panels. The initiative started in late 2016.
Total is also installing solar panels at production sites, including plants and refineries, and office buildings. A number of projects to equip various plants or office buildings with solar panels have been identified, adding up to a nominal power of more than 200 MW-peak, equivalent to the electricity demand of a city of 200,000 people.
“TOTAL service stations around the world are designed as one-stop shops offering customers tailor-made services that are easy to access and use,” says Momar Nguer, president of Total Marketing & Services and member of Total’s Executive Committee. “The service stations equipped with solar panels are more independent of the grid and showcase our know-how and expertise in renewable energies. Consistent with Total’s ambition to become the responsible energy major, the program will reduce our retail network’s carbon emissions by more than 50,000 tons per year.”
“Solarizing Total’s service stations are fully aligned with our strategy of generating and supplying distributed renewable electricity,” adds Julien Pouget, senior vice president, Renewables, Total. “We’re proud to inaugurate our thousandth solar-equipped retail outlet. This milestone achievement reflects Total’s commitment to using solar power at our sites and our ability to support our industrial and commercial customers with cleaner, more affordable and safer electricity.”
The TOTAL Palmeraie service station in Marrakech has 134 square meters of photovoltaic panels. The system will produce 45 megawatt-hours of power per year and reduce the retail outlet’s carbon emissions by 30 tons per year.
Total integrates climate change into its strategy and is staying ahead of new energy market trends by building a portfolio of low-carbon businesses that are expected to account for 15% to 20% of its sales by 2040. Total’s gross low-carbon power generation capacity worldwide currently stands at almost 7 gigawatts, of which 3 gigawatts are derived from renewable energies.
With more than 40 years of solar experience, Total actively contributes to the growth of solar energy across the world by designing and operating utility-scale power plants and supplying industrial and commercial customers with solar energy generated at their own sites.
