France: Engie, Suez plan 1 GW of solar at waste recycling, treatment facilities

French energy provider, Engie and France-based water and waste management solutions provider, Suez have announced that they will jointly build ground-mounted solar power projects at several waste recycling and treatment facilities across France.

According to a press release from Engie, the two companies are planning to deploy around 1 GW of PV capacity at several sites where Suez is already producing power at biogas power plants. According to the French group, SUEZ currently produces 620 GWh using the biogas at its facilities.

“The potential of the sites concerned, estimated at 1 GW, is equivalent to the capacity of a nuclear reactor and will avoid the production of 27,500 tonnes of CO2 per year, thus contributing significantly to France’s targets in terms of renewable energy development and the fight against climate change,” Engie stressed.

The first 12 MW project will be developed at the Drambon storage facility in the Côte-d’Or department in eastern France in 2018. No more details about further projects were provided.

At the end of 2017, Engie owned and operated around 900 MW of solar power assets worldwide.

One of the world’s largest energy companies, traditionally active in the nuclear and natural gas sectors, Engie has recently rejigged its strategy with a strong focus on solar and renewables. The group is active in the solar sector through its units Solairedirect, Engie Green and La Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR).

Last year, Engie also acquired Netherlands-based Sungevity International, the European unit of U.S. residential solar company, Sungevity; a minority stake in Chinese solar developer Unisun Energy; while taking full control of French solar and wind project developer, Compagnie du Vent.