France

Spanish company Axial Structural is introducing a new type of tracker for agrivoltaic installations. The product can be adapted to various ground conditions and gradients, with programmable to optimize light and shade for different crops in different climates.

The provisions for a fixed feed-in tariff (FIT) for all PV systems up to 500 kW in size have finally been published in France’s Official Journal – after an agonizing two year wait. pv magazine France provides the low down on tariffs, caps, carbon criteria, and integration.

Roctool, a French production equipment supplier, has teamed up with the CEA-Liten research institute to develop 300 mm x 300 mm solar modules based on recycled, bio-based materials via a novel manufacturing process. The first prototypes will be unveiled over the next few months.

PV project developers can secure France’s feed-in tariff without participating in tenders.

The PPA was awarded by French utility EDF. The facility relies on a 55 MW solar unit, a 16 MW electrolyzer, storage tanks and 3 MW of fuel cells.

A 19.8 kW PV system is powering a telecommunications antenna at a French air control center. When it produces more energy than needed, the surplus is used to produce hydrogen which is then utilized to produce new electricity via a fuel cell system and provide power to the antenna during a period of up to five days. For short-term storage, lithium-ion batteries are used.

French specialist Sun’Agri installed a pilot facility on five hectares in southern France in 2018. Its goal is to protect the vines from weather hazards and to improve the quality of the wine by lowering its alcohol content. The first harvest took place in mid-September.

The sustainability claims of a crowdfunded ‘e-textile’ range launched by Art by Physicist are borne out by the fact each garment will be printed on demand.

Built by the developers TSE and Enerparc, the facility has a capacity of 152 MW and is located in Marville, in northeastern France.

The module is claimed to be one of the top five most performant heterojunction solar modules, in terms of power density, with the champion panel achieving 214.15 W/m² and the average device 209.5 W/m². The panel showed an efficiency ranging from 20.95% to 21.41%.