![Veolia plans to use landfill sites like this one in the picture, for solar power in France. (Illustrative Photo; Photo Credit: neenawat khenyothaa/Shutterstock.com)](http://media.assettype.com/taiyangnews%2Fimport%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F02%2FPresentation1-11.jpg?w=480&auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max)
French utility Veolia plans to cover around 400 hectares of land at its restored landfills to install over 300 MW solar panels under what it says is its massive solar program. This program is being carried out amid a 'significant land shortage' that limits solar expansion in France, it adds.
Along with limited land for solar projects, complex permitting processes compound problems. It stated, "This issue underlines the need for public and private players to work together to ensure the rapid and effective deployment of solar energy in France."
Solar panels of this capacity will cover more than 40 selected non-hazardous restored landfills. The 300 MW capacity will generate enough clean energy for the consumption of 130,000 inhabitants, it added. Initial projects are scheduled to come online by 2027.
Veolia said this initiative is part of the group's ongoing ambition to make its services energy-independent in France. It is currently conducting feasibility studies for solar power plants on hazardous waste landfill sites, as well as sites it manages on behalf of its clients.
Positive results, it added, could lead to more than 400 MW of renewable energy being installed across the country.
"From now on, our landfills, most of which already produce biogas or biomethane, will also be able to produce photovoltaic energy," said Veolia CEO Estelle Brachlianoff. "We're aiming for more than 40 projects within the next 3 to 4 years, but we could go faster with the removal of administrative hurdles and the simplification of procedures. Faced with the challenges of energy sovereignty and decarbonization, these delays need to be cut in half."