Large scale solar-plus-hydrogen project secures 25-year PPA in French Guiana
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.
Solar-plus-hydrogen for air traffic control
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.
Agrivoltaics for viticulture
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.
Flexible organic PV films on clothing offer charging on the move
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.
France’s second largest PV plant comes online
Built by the developers TSE and Enerparc, the facility has a capacity of 152 MW and is located in Marville, in northeastern France.
CEA-INES unveils shingled heterojunction PV panel with 21.41% efficiency
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%.
Solar on new-build homes has significantly shorter payback period
A report by BloombergNEF and Schneider Electric has pressed the case for governments to unlock the world’s potentially huge rooftop solar potential, and cited California’s solar mandate as a shining example.
France’s largest PV carport is under construction
A 29 MW solar carport is being built by Engie at the factory of car manufacturer Stellantis in Sochaux. The plant is scheduled to begin commercial operation in October 2022.
Commission flags up €875m renewables project fund
A call for grant proposals has been promised this month, with the bloc’s executive yesterday firing the gun on a separate exercise related to cross-border EU energy infrastructure projects.
EU approves France’s small scale solar FIT plans
The European Commission has determined France can offer the owners of building-mounted panels with a generation capacity of up to 500 kW a 20-year feed-in tariff without breaching the bloc’s state aid rules.
