Exxon,Total and Enbridge are backing newest non-fossil fuels

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Total, the French oil supermajor, announced a $1.1 billion deal Monday to buy the battery maker Saft Groupe, complementing its 2011 purchase of a majority stake in the solar-panel maker SunPower and the Canadian pipeline company Enbridge announced Tuesday it will pay $218 million for stakes in offshore wind farms as it attempts to double its low-carbon generating capacity. “To thrive in the long term, they need a mix in their portfolio.” Petroleum giants began investing in clean energy as early as the 1970s, when the oil crisis prompted Exxon to explore solar’s potential. Enbridge’s $218 million deal Tuesday to buy stakes in three farms located off France’s coast from DONG Energy A/S equals less than one percent of the pipeline company’s 2015 revenue. Timothy Fox, an analyst at ClearView Energy Partners LLC, said it’s too early to tell whether the investments represent a broader push by oil companies at large to diversify their clean energy holdings.