1 GW Solar & Storage Project Planned For France

• A 1 GW solar farm is being planned by Engie and Neoen in France's Nouvelle-Aquitaine region
• It will also have 40 MW BESS, a 10 MW electrolyzer facility and a data center
• Project is likely to cost an investment of €1 billion and may come online in 2026 once the investment decision is taken

One among the largest subsidy free solar power projects in all of Europe is being planned in France with 1 GW capacity by energy companies Engie and Neoen. The Horizeo Project is also designed to host a 40 MW battery energy storage (BESS) facility along with a 10 MW electrolyzer, and a data centre, reported Bloomberg.

The green hydrogen thus produced can be used to power 40 buses and the heat generated by the data center can then be used for agricultural greenhouses.

Though relevant approvals and clearances are yet to come in, the companies are expecting to reach a final investment decision before the end of year 2023. The €1 billion ($1.6 billion) project may come online in 2026 near Bordeaux on 1,000-hectare land at Saucats in Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

Company officials informed that power generated by the project will majorly be sold under bilateral power purchase agreements (PPA) with corporate consumers.

The last time Engie announced a partnership for solar power at a GW scale was in March 2018 with water and waste management solutions firm Suez for 1 GW capacity across 100 sites in Mainland France (see Engie Partners With Suez For 1 GW Solar). Currently, several green hydrogen projects are being developed in Europe – and many more are supposed to come after the EU Commission announced in July 2020 its Clean Hydrogen Strategy to install 6 GW of electrolyses by 2024 and 40 GW by 2030 (see European Commission Launches Hydrogen Strategy).