OREANDA-NEWS. French President François Hollande inaugurated the Roc du Doun solar power plant in the Corrèze department in presence of Isabelle Kocher, Executive Vice-President of ENGIE, Chief Operating Officer, and Thierry Conil, Chairman of La Compagnie du Vent.

Roc du Doun photovoltaic facility is the Limousin region’s first solar power plant with an installed capacity of 12 MWc. Located in the municipality of Gros-Chastang, the plant has approximately 37,000 photovoltaic panels that will produce each year close to 16,8 million KWh, the equivalent of the annual electricity consumption of 7,000 persons.

Roc Du Doun, a solar power plant benefiting the regional and national economy

Through its subsidiary La Compagnie du Vent, ENGIE has invested €21.5 million for the development of the project, which was designed in partnership with national and local companies.

The Roc du Doun plant utilizes the most efficient and latest photovoltaic technology in the market. Its panels are installed on mobile platforms called “trackers” and track the sun’s movement throughout the day, thereby increasing generated electricity by more than 15% compared with “fixed” installations. Reflecting the know-how developed in France, trackers were designed by the Bordeaux-based company Exosun and the photovoltaic panels were built by the Toulouse-based SunPower company.

A power plant seamlessly integrated into the environment

The Roc du Doun plant, which is divided into three parts, marries economic development and respect for the environment in order to bring back a neglected area that has no agricultural or forestry development value. 

The plant is integrated into an overall project that includes:

  • an agro-environmental management element, mainly to restore a 75-acre soggy area;
  • an eco-tourism aspect sponsored by the town of Gros-Chastang; and
  • an agricultural development aspect, with sheep grazing on plant grounds.  

ENGIE, a major player in renewables in Europe and abroad

With this new power plant, ENGIE confirms its ambitions to develop solar photovoltaic technologies. Thanks to its July acquisition of Solairedirect, market leader in competitive solar power, ENGIE is now the leader in the industry in France, with a total gross installed capacity of 383 MW[1].

In France, the Group is also the leader for onshore wind energy (more than 1,450 MW) and is developing in renewable marine energy with offshore wind projects (Dieppe – Le Tréport, the islands of Yeu and Noirmoutier – 1000 MW) and tidal marine power projects underway.

The development of renewable energies is among the strategic priorities of ENGIE whose goal is to become the energy transition leader in Europe. The Group thus intends to double its renewable electricity capacity between 2015 and 2025 in Europe to reach 16 GW. In the world, ENGIE holds leading positions in renewables with more than 20 GW1of installed capacity, or 18% of its overall energy-generating capacity