Voltalia Launches Three Solar Power Plants with 26.9 MW Capacity in Southern France
Voltalia announced on Thursday the commissioning of three photovoltaic facilities in the south of France, with a total capacity of 26.9 megawatts. Two of the parks are located in Bouches-du-Rhône and the third in Alpes-Maritimes.
Features of the Three Facilities
The first park, with a capacity of 6.2 megawatts, is located on a site formerly used for material storage and later as a quarry during development works in the 1970s. The second photovoltaic park, situated in Bouches-du-Rhône, has a capacity of 10.9 megawatts on a 15-hectare former agricultural land. It is equipped with solar panel carrying structures that include trackers. An appropriate irrigation system is planned to allow the resumption and sustainable development of agricultural activities. The third facility, with a capacity of 9.8 megawatts in Alpes-Maritimes, uses solar panels on fixed structures.
Securing Production and Environmental Impact
The first 6.2-megawatt photovoltaic plant was named the winner of the neutral tender by the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) in October 2023. The total production from the other two parks, amounting to 34.3 gigawatt-hours per year, is secured by a long-term Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (CPPA) for 15 years concluded with CERN (European Laboratory for Particle Physics). Altogether, the electricity production from these three facilities represents the annual consumption of more than 19,100 residents and will help avoid the emission of 7,800 tonnes of CO2 per year.
