La Réunion stadium hosts 1.25 MW/1.33 MWh of solar-plus-storage

From pv magazine France.

French overseas energy company Albioma has switched on a solar-plus-storage rooftop installation at the Stade de l’Est Jean Ivoula in Saint-Denis, in the Indian Ocean overseas territory of La Reunion.

The project was selected in a tender for storage deployment in locations not served by grid network interconnectors. The procurement was finalized by France’s Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) in 2016.

The 4,200-panel project has a generation capacity of 1.25 MW and a lithium-ion storage capacity of 1.33 MWh. It is estimated the array will generate around 1.7 GWh of solar power annually – corresponding to the annual demand from around 600 houses.

“In addition to the guaranteed power provided by the batteries, this power plant will supply energy every day during the end-of-day peak between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.,” said Albioma. “The technology deployed for this power plant makes it possible to offset the intermittent production of conventional solar installations, thus stabilizing and guaranteeing production during the day – [despite] cloud [cover and] weather changes – and increasing its predictability.”

Overseas portfolio

Albioma president and CEO Frédéric Moyne said the company was pleased to be able to support the city of Saint-Denis de La Réunion in its commitment to the energy transition. “The 12,000m² of solar panels installed on the roof of Stade de l’Est Jean Ivoula will produce 1.7 GWh of renewable electricity per year, directly injected into … Reunion,” said the chief executive.

The Paris-based clean energy company, which operates in French overseas territories plus Mauritius and Brazil, commissioned the stadium project last year. The company was also selected by the CRE to develop a 7.4 MW/14.9 MWh solar-plus-storage project on the French Indian Ocean island territory of Mayotte. Albioma operates almost 180 power plants and has around 100 more under construction, including nine which include energy storage elements.

In annual results published last month, the power company stated an aim to achieve an 80% renewable energy contribution in its generation portfolio, mainly thanks to plans to convert all its thermal energy facilities in French overseas departments to run on biomass, with work having already started on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. The company plans to invest €450-650 million up to 2023.