French independent renewable energy producer Akuo Energy has commissioned its 2nd floating solar plant with 8.7 MW capacity, near Toulouse in Southern France and is getting ready to bring online its 3rd such project in Gouts, near Landes in the country this autumn.
Cintegabelle Floating Solar Plant in Cintegabelle is said to help avoid more than 900 metric tons of carbon emissions annually by providing local and decentralized renewable energy to more than 2,000 homes, according to Akuo.
It is located on Cap Vert Lake which is a 10-hectare manmade lake which was created after a gravel quarry ceased operations. Akuo says the floating solar technology has made it possible for the area to be rehabilitated by adding solar electricity production to the space acting as a reservoir and fishing area.
The company plans to continuously monitor the site's flora and fauna throughout its lifecycle. The 8.7 MW project will be inaugurated in September 2023.
Akuo has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with electricity supplier Octopus Energy that's also one of the financiers for the facility along with Arkea Banque Entreprises & Institutionnels, Caisse d'Epargne Aquitaine Poitou Charentes and its financial engineering subsidiary Hélia Conseil, and the Energy MAIF Transition fund.
"We have been working with Akuo for several years to bring about a new economic model that allows the development of new local production facilities while offering clients the possibility of benefiting from stable price terms over the long term. The current crisis shows just how directly useful this business model is locally," said Octopus Energy France's Co-Founder and CEO Vincent Maillard.
Akuo already operates a 17 MW floating solar plant, its 1st for this technology that was inaugurated in October 2019 in Piolenc in France's Vaucluse region. Back then it was the country's 1st and Europe's largest floating PV facility (see Europe Gets Its largest Floating Solar Plant In France).
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