Grand Est. Photovoltaics is finally making its way into the sun
They're everywhere, you're surrounded! Photovoltaic park commissioning and projects are springing up like mushrooms in the Lorraine sunshine. The latest, 8,714 panels on a former 4-hectare wasteland made up of backfill from the LGV works in Pont-à-Mousson, was inaugurated on June 10. And it's far from being an isolated case. On June 27, the Grand Est Region will vote on its project based in Chambley, reduced to 35 Megawatts on the ground and 16 MW in shaded areas , enough to produce the equivalent of the annual energy consumption of 18,000 people. On July 10, the Moselle Department will inaugurate its own. Launched in 2018 in its Illange and Farébersviller economic zones, these 60 Megawatt-peak (MWp) and 12 MWp parks are finally in operation. In Creutzwald, the Tradisa automotive logistics site is planning the second largest shade park in France after the Disneyland Paris parking lot by 2027! Covering 30 hectares, it will supply the equivalent of the domestic electricity consumption of 22,000 people, or 33 MWp. In Jarny-Giraumont, a large solar power plant is expected for 2027 with 53,000 bifacial panels on 26.6 hectares of usable space and a nominal power of 33 MWp. Enough to compete with two of the Lorraine giants: the Toul-Rosières power plant (1.4 million photovoltaic panels on 360 hectares with a capacity of 115 MWp) . And to a lesser extent that of Marville which has transformed its former NATO base into a giant 70 MWp park.
This content is blocked because you have not accepted cookies and other trackers.
By clicking on "I accept" , cookies and other trackers will be placed and you will be able to view the contents ( more information ).
By clicking on "I accept all cookies" , you authorize the deposit of cookies and other tracers for the storage of your data on our sites and applications for the purposes of personalization and advertising targeting.
You can withdraw your consent at any time by consulting our data protection policy . Manage my choices
So many examples that show the boom in photovoltaics in Grand Est. If the region ranks 2nd in renewable energy production, it owes it mainly to wind power, of which it is the 2nd most productive region after Hauts-de-France. For photovoltaics, it is only 5th , behind the four regions making up the southern half of the country, which is necessarily sunnier. It therefore still has a lot to prove. At the national level, renewable energies represent approximately 22.5% of gross final energy consumption (2023 figures from the Ministry of Ecological Transition) while the 2030 objective from the Energy and Climate Law is 30%. The share of photovoltaics, on the other hand, is reduced to the bare minimum: 5.8%. Far behind wind power (13.5%). But it enjoys a more positive image, even if it sometimes happens that projects arouse opposition, such as that of the Mercy forest near Metz .
This content is blocked because you have not accepted cookies and other trackers.
By clicking on "I accept" , cookies and other trackers will be placed and you will be able to view the contents ( more information ).
By clicking on "I accept all cookies" , you authorize the deposit of cookies and other tracers for the storage of your data on our sites and applications for the purposes of personalization and advertising targeting.
You can withdraw your consent at any time by consulting our data protection policy . Manage my choices
There is also something new under the sun since the Aper law (Acceleration of the production of renewable energies) of June 10, 2023. It requires all outdoor parking lots, existing on July 1, 2023 and with a surface area greater than 1,500 m², to be equipped by 2026 or 2028 with photovoltaic canopies on at least half of their surface area. It also defines a legal framework for agrivoltaics (Installation of panels on agricultural plots). A major lever for development when we know that the utilized agricultural area (UAA) in France amounts to 28 million hectares. The latest phenomenon that strengthens the place of photovoltaics in Grand Est: the future installation of the HoloSolis gigafactory for manufacturing photovoltaic cells in Hambach , near Sarreguemines. The key: €850 million in investments and 2,000 jobs by 2029. Enough to secure a permanent place in the sun.
“There is real momentum in the region”
Nicolas Gubry is the Grand Est regional delegate of France renouvelables, the association that represents renewable electrical energy.
Photovoltaic projects are multiplying in the Grand Est region. How can this be explained?
There is indeed a real dynamic. It is linked to the fact that there are many military or industrial brownfield sites to be developed and therefore available land. The other factor is that agrivoltaics opens up a new field of development. The arrival of a plant like HoloSolis also constitutes a structuring project for the entire sector. To date, we have just over 88,000 installations in Grand Est and 2,000 megawatts installed, out of the 26,700 in France. That's just over 5% of the national market, but with significant growth to come. Our goal is to multiply these figures by 4 or 5 by 2035.
What is holding back the development of renewable energies today?
We lack visibility. Developments are constantly being discussed, but the sector needs better visibility and a real guideline. This is what we are working on through the multi-year preparation of the energy sector, which will be regionalized. Territorial objectives will be defined. We need to develop volumes for the various renewable energy sources. This is very important for us. The Region must maintain its leadership in wind power, where it ranks second . of France and it must have a real dynamic in photovoltaics so that it remains a driving region for the development of the various sectors as is the case today.
Does agrivoltaics have a future in Grand Est?
For now, there are few power plants installed. But the regulatory framework is recent, and there are many projects. Some are nearing the end of their review process. This is being implemented, but we expect large volumes to arrive.
Ph.M.
In Marville, the former military base is creating sparks!
Nearly 364,000 photovoltaic panels, some of which use bifacial technology. 220 football pitches of surface area occupied, or 155 hectares of the 383 hectares on the site of the former NATO air base at Marville in the Meuse, occupied by the Canadian Air Force from 1953 to 1967, then passed into French hands before being abandoned in 2002. Panels installed right where the runways, taxiways and aircraft hangars are located.
It took ten years to get to this point photovoltaic power plant which produces 156 GWh annually, representing the electricity supply of 22,000 inhabitants per year, the equivalent of almost the entire Greater Verdun conurbation.
In short, when it was commissioned in 2021, the Marville photovoltaic power plant was the 2nd France's largest photovoltaic park in terms of power, behind Cestas in Gironde. But it took 10 years to get there. The base, bought in 2006 by the codecom of Pays de Montmédy, saw the first project blossom in 2011. The first project fell through at the time due to the moratorium on photovoltaics. It wasn't until 2016 that two companies, the French TSE and the German Enerparc, revived the idea.
Sheep for site maintenanceIt will then be necessary to wait for the pyrotechnic decontamination of the site, which revealed the presence of 16,000 objects, including 145 dangerous ones: grenades, shells, rockets, live munitions, etc., for the work to finally begin at the end of June 2020 for a total amount of 80 million euros.
A 40-year long-term lease was signed between the two companies, which share the operation of the park, and Codecom du Pays de Montmédy for a rent of nearly €400,000 per year for the benefit of the community. The TSE section to the west was commissioned first, followed by the Enerparc section to the east. The inauguration of the entire project took place in early September 2021.
The icing on the cake is that the site's upkeep is provided by... sheep! Nearly 1,000 of these animals roam between and under the modules, grazing the grass where machines can barely pass. The sheep are under the care of a young farmer who grazes the animals that are regulars at the sheepfold installed in a building on the former military base.
While the power station is running at full capacity, it is also regularly visited by enthusiasts during open days with explanation of the site, the project and solar energy.
Frédéric Plancard
Inaugurated on Thursday, June 19, it will begin operating in the coming days. The result of an exemplary partnership between the region's elected officials and the solar energy producer Corsica Sole, specializing in
Electricity: the Cirey-sur-Vezouze solar power plant will cover the needs of 3,500 residents
Yesterday turned towards the reflections of mirrors and glassware, tomorrow turned towards the sun. Impossible to miss, as you leave Cirey-sur-Vezouze and head towards Val-et-Châtillon, the very new solar power plant. History will record that the site supported the activity of a glassworks specializing in mirror glass, until its closure shortly before the last war. For a long time, a lasting solution was sought to use a factory that had long been abandoned or supported artisanal activities with little future, until its demolition.
Corsica Sole has just inaugurated with great fanfare the new solar power plant in Cirey-sur-Vezouze, after having launched, a year ago a similar scheme in Dommartin-lès-Remiremont . An independent solar energy producer and leader in energy storage in Europe, this company with around 160 employees has invested in the former glassworks wasteland on an area of 5 hectares in order to install 8,700 solar panels. The annual electricity production (6.1 GWh) will meet the needs of nearly 3,500 people with heating. The electricity produced by Corsica Sole is thus sold directly to the electricity networks.
1,891 tonnes of CO2 avoidedThe operation will be effective within a few days, once the final connections and hookups have been made, the final step following negotiations that began in the early 2020s with the municipality of Cirey-sur-Vezouze. Five years, a reasonable timeframe, invested in assessing the relevance of the project, imagining the layout of the land, overcoming administrative challenges, and drafting a contractual formula with the parties to offer a reconversion of the land.
"From the residents and the municipality: thank you," soberly expressed Philippe Arnould, the president of the community of communes, praising the "professionalism and humility" of Corsica Sole's leaders. These words were relayed by Jean-Claude Bazin, the new mayor, ensuring the continuity of the project born under René Acrement's mandate.
The project "symbolizes the reconversion of an industrial site into a space dedicated to the production of renewable energy," the energy producer claims. The production at Cirey-sur-Vezouze will thus make it possible to “avoid the emission of nearly 1,891 tonnes of CO2 per year”.
Once completed, the new solar power plant "brings numerous benefits to the area, such as the revaluation of land formerly used for storing wood and cluttered with waste, which has now been cleaned and restored."
By organizing visits for local residents, planning outings for schoolchildren or putting up educational display panels, Corsica Sole is meeting the ambition of local elected officials to see the area " invested by the population”. Thomas Muller, director of Corsica Sole, took advantage of his visit to express his desire for this partnership with combative elected officials: "We want this site to be that of the region and its population."
Antoine Pétry
L'Est Républicain
