This floating solar power plant will be the largest in France
The old quarries of Ets. Blandin in Perthes will host the largest floating solar power plant in France. / Photo: RES
Covering the lakes of a former quarry, the future floating solar power plant in Perthes (Haute-Marne) will be the largest of its kind in France. It must produce around 70 GWh each year, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 26,000 households.
On roofs, building facades, in fields, plains, in cities, in high mountains, at sea or on artificial bodies of water: solar panels adapt to any support. They can thus cover unused surfaces to produce carbon-free electricity. In France, the future largest floating photovoltaic power plant in the country will occupy the ponds of a former aggregate quarry.
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Located in Perthes in Haute-Marne, the site will consist of 120,000 modules spread over 127 hectares (1.27 km²). It will have an installed capacity of 65.5 MWp for an annual production estimated at around 70 GWh, i.e. the annual consumption of 26,000 households according to Renewable Energy Systems (RES).
The British energy company will invest nearly 50 million euros in the project, which has just obtained its building permit. Commissioning is scheduled for the end of 2023.
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At the same time, RES announces that it will develop more than 200 MW of solar power plants floating in France, out of an unofficially estimated potential of between 10 and 22 GWp. Water bodies are therefore coveted, particularly artificial expanses which often have the advantage of having no conflict of use. Despite the slight additional cost of floating photovoltaics, several players such as EDF Renewables and Akuo Energy are interested in it.
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