French energy company ENGIE claims renewable edge

"The alliance of the two groups -- and in particular the specific skills of LANGA teams on roofs and ground-based power plants, as well as the general portfolio of projects being developed -- will incontestably make ENGIE a leader of the sector in the country," Gwenaelle Huet, the CEO of ENGIE France renewables, said in a statement.

For undisclosed terms, ENGIE said it acquired the Brittany-based renewable energy producer. By year's end, the LANGA Group should have 215 megawatts of installed renewable energy capacity, with most of that existing as solar energy. Another 1.3 gigawatts of projects could be completed by the group by 2022.

Through the agreement, French renewable energy major ENGIE said it had support for a goal of developing about 3GW of wind and 2.2 GW of solar power by 2021.

ENGIE reported first quarter revenue of $20.7 billion was up more than 1 percent from last year.

In announcing its first quarter earnings, ENGIE said it was successful in repositioning itself as a low-carbon leader. In the French market, the company attributed gains to a strong increase in wind and hydroelectric power generation, which is up nearly 40 percent.

The company late last year joined eight other European energy companies in making a pledge to develop what they said was the "most dynamic segments of sustainable finance today, the green bond market."

France has one of the least carbonized electricity sectors among members of the European Union.

French President Emmanuel Macron, meanwhile, is a staunch supporter of the push for a low-carbon economy, calling for a ban on oil and gas exploration and a phase out of the sales of new gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles beginning in 2040.