65.5 MW Floating Solar Plant In Europe

• RES Group has secured building permit for a floating solar power plant in France
• The 65.5 MW project is the 'largest' authorized floating PV facility in the country, according to the company
• It will be located on the site of a former quarry and is scheduled to come online by the end of 2023

RES Group will build what it calls as the largest authorized floating solar power plant in France, with 65.5 MW capacity. The UK headquartered renewable energy company has secured a building permit for the facility to come up on the site of a former quarry in Haute-Marne.

Solar panels will be hosted by several islands spread over a 127-hectare site of former gravel pits. The system is expected to generate enough clean energy to suffice electricity requirements of 26,000 denizens once it comes online by the end of 2023.

RES said it would represent more than 10% of the PV capacity installed in France's Grand Est region by the end of 2020. The company said this project would pave the way for its other floating solar power projects since it has a development portfolio of over 200 MW for this technology.

President of Etablissements Blandin, Francis Blandin said, "We should encourage this development which, in the long term, will also provide clean energy for our sites and ensure that we produce carbon-free quarry materials."

Currently, France has an operational 17 MW O'MEGA floating solar project in Piolenc Commune, touted by Akuo Energy as the country's largest such facility when it was commissioned in October 2019 (see Europe Gets Its largest Floating Solar Plant In France). It will be surpassed by a 20 MW facility that EDF Renouvables is working to bring online in Spring 2022 (see EDF Enters Floating Solar Space With 20 MW Project).

According to a Fitch Solutions Report from October 2020, France is one of the floating solar markets to watch out for as the world installs 10 GW additional cumulative capacity by 2025 (see Fitch Expects 10 GW New Floating PV By 2025).