France

Iberdrola has secured a new 25 MW floating PV project in a tender in the municipality of Kurtzenhouse, Alsace, France.

French scientists have developed a dataset to enable the creation of installation registries, by extracting small-scale PV metadata from overhead imagery. It can be used to provide training data for remote PV mapping algorithms and test the robustness of machine-learning models.

Honda has revealed a new hydrogen strategy, while Air Liquide and TotalEnergies have announced a new hydrogen joint venture.

French specialist Sun’Agri unveiled the agronomic results on a crop of eggplant grown in a greenhouse commissioned in the Lot-et-Garonne in September, 2020.

French solar developer TSE, in association with Alliance BFC, has unveiled the initial results of a pilot study in France on how solar panels can affect soybean growth.

French research institute CEA-INES has produced a 566 W heterojunction (HJT) demonstrator PV panel using Norwegian silicon wafers based on German polysilicon and solar cells made in France. The prototype has a carbon footprint of 317 kgCO2eq/kW, which is considerably lower than the maximum 800 kgCO2eq/kW standard for Chinese products.

French energy giant TotalEnergies studied the impact of solar panels on crops in order to develop a repository of agronomic benefits. The initial results show an increase in agricultural yields on field crops and a reduction in water stress.

Butagaz is continuing its investments in solar energy through the acquisition of Sys EnR, following its purchase of French installers Soltéa and Solewa.

The French authorities selected 66 projects in a recent tender for “innovative” PV technologies. The final average price was significantly lower than the ceiling price.

French renewables developer Neoen says it will provide power to broadcast services provider TDF under a long-term deal. It will source the electricity from 62 MW of solar across two projects that are now under development in southeastern France.