Bennett Jones, Kirkland & Ellis advising KKR
TotalEnergies has struck a deal with insurance vehicles and accounts managed by global investment firm KKR, selling a 50 percent stake in a 1.4-gigawatt solar portfolio across North America. The agreement values the portfolio at $1.25 billion, with TotalEnergies set to receive $950 million upon closing.
The portfolio includes six utility-scale solar projects totaling 1.3 gigawatts, alongside 41 distributed generation assets amounting to 140 megawatts. Most of these assets are based in the United States. Electricity generated by the projects has either been sold to third parties or will be marketed directly by TotalEnergies.
As of June 2025, TotalEnergies boasts more than 30 gigawatts of installed gross renewable electricity generation capacity. The company is targeting 35 gigawatts by the end of this year and aims to surpass 100 terawatt-hours of net electricity production by 2030.
“We are pleased to enter into this new strategic partnership with KKR in North America, a key deregulated electricity market to expand our integrated business model”, said TotalEnergies president of gas, renewables and power, Stéphane Michel, in a press release. “Aligned with our strategy, this transaction unlocks value from newly commissioned assets and further strengthens the profitability of our Integrated Power business.”
KKR, which has committed more than $23 billion to energy transition investments through its infrastructure platform, sees the partnership as a natural fit. “TotalEnergies is a renewable energy industry leader globally, and we are thrilled to establish this joint venture with the TotalEnergies team to support their renewables business”, said KKR managing director, Cecilio Velasco. “TotalEnergies’ North American solar portfolio is a great fit for us, representing high-quality renewable energy assets with long term contracts.”
Bennett Jones advised KKR on the Canadian aspects of the agreement with a team led by John Mercury (Private Equity, M&A) and includes John Lawless, James McClary, Rebecca Taylor and Cole Shrimpton (M&A), Anu Nijhawan and Spencer Brown (Tax), David Macaulay and Jessica Kennedy (Energy Regulatory Law), Adam Kalbfleisch and Kolding Larson (Competition/Antitrust) and Jeremy Russell (Banking).
Kirkland & Ellis is acting as US legal counsel to KKR with a team that included corporate lawyers John Pitts, Josh Teahen, Jordan Rex and Wright Wommack; debt finance lawyers Roald Nashi, Greg Howling, Katherine Hannah and Jacqueline Trudeau; and tax lawyers David Wheat, Joe Tobias, Sam Kamyans and William Nicholson.
