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Neoen and SNCF Energie sign solar PPA

Published by , Editorial Assistant
Energy Global,

Neoen, a leading producer of exclusively renewable energy, has signed a corporate power purchase agreement (PPA) for 139 MWp with SNCF Energie, the branch of SNCF dedicated to the sourcing of electricity supply for trains in France. Under the 25-year agreement, SNCF Energie will purchase all the electricity and guarantees of origin produced by Le Couret agrivoltaic farm in Haute-Vienne, France (139 MWp) as soon as the park is commissioned. The project, which follows Neoen’s develop-to-own model, will be France’s largest solar park operating under a PPA with SNCF.

The solar project has been granted the required authorisations and its connection to the grid is secured. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2026, with commissioning to follow in 2028. The electricity produced at Le Couret will cover the equivalent of the annual supply for the high-speed Paris-Marseille line.

Thanks to close collaboration between Neoen, local officials and the Chamber of agriculture, the solar farm will combine renewable electricity production with sheep farming. A farmer will use the 150 hectares as grazing land. The solar farm to be installed is designed to enable cohabitation and to safeguard animal well-being. The project includes a farmhouse, hay barn/shearing area and sheepfold for the farmer’s use. Two apprentices will also be trained in the particularities of raising sheep in an agrivoltaic park.

“We are delighted to announce the signing of this PPA in France and we thank SNCF Energie for their trust. We are proud to have pioneered agrivoltaics back in 2019, when we initiated the development of Le Couret, five years before it became an important topic in France. The park will be home to 700 sheep and 1000 lambs, supporting farming in Haute-Vienne while producing green, low-carbon electricity to power trains,” commented Guillaume Decaen, Neoen’s French Development Director.

“As France’s number one consumer of electricity, we have a duty to be exemplary. The PPA with Neoen – my respect and gratitude to their teams and leaders – is another demonstration of our determination to continue purchasing contracting PPAs, as we have been doing since 2018. We are approaching our target of 20 PPAs for a total of 1.1 TWh of renewably sourced electricity. The partnership with Neoen underpins our progress and makes it a reality,” said Olivier Menuet, President of SNCF Energie and Director of the Ecology and Energy Transition at SNCF Voyageurs.

“We are particularly proud of this contract, because of its size – it’s probably the largest solar farm under PPA to date – and because of the agrisolar component. We are edging towards our 1100 GWh target and are well on the way to upholding SNCF Voyageur’s commitment,” added Richard Fécamp, General Manager of SNCF Energie at SNCF Voyageurs.

 

 

For more news and technical articles from the global renewable industry, read the latest issue of Energy Global magazine.

Energy Global's Spring 2024 issue

The Spring 2024 issue of Energy Global starts with a guest comment from Field on how battery storage sites can serve as a viable solution to curtailed energy, before moving on to a regional report from Théodore Reed-Martin, Editorial Assistant, Energy Global, looking at the state of renewables in Europe. This issue also hosts an array of technical articles on electrical infrastructure, turbine and blade monitoring, battery storage technology, coatings, and more.

Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/solar/10062024/neoen-and-sncf-energie-sign-solar-ppa/

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